Attending the 2017 Awareness on Bullying Conference has confirmed an idea in my head for years. Not all bullies are aware of how awful their behavior is towards other people. In their mind, their words and actions can help the victim become better at some point.
Despite that, everyone around bullies knows that the opposite of that is the truth. Bullying helps no one—not even the bullies themselves. It can hurt people, to the extent that they want to halt all their activities and stay cooped up in their room. Some even choose death instead of hearing another word from the bullies.
Now, if you don’t know if you are a bully, here are some telltale signs for you.
You Get In Trouble A Lot Due To Your Behavior
Whether you are at school or work, the leading authorities always want to have a chat with you regarding complaints about your behavior. You need not believe it if it has only happened once. However, considering you get summoned almost every week or month, perhaps you need to accept that something’s wrong with your actions.
You Hardly Have Real Friends
I feel the need to emphasize “real friends” because bullies tend to have a group of people backing them up. Often, though, they merely hang around in hopes of not getting bullied like others. If you get into an accident, and no one wants to come to your aid, that’s a sign that your close connections are bogus.
You Love Finding And Talking About Someone’s Weaknesses
Bullies cannot survive a day without saying something mean about someone. It does not even need to happen in person at times. You see it in people who open their social media account, browse through others’ feeds, and criticize them aloud. If you enjoy doing things like that, know that it’s a sign of bullying.
There is a thin line between constructive criticism and bullying. Aim to stay on the former’s side to avoid hurting anybody.