Everyone wants attention. Big companies spend millions to get 30 seconds of your attention when you’re watching TV. The puppy runs toward its owner when he/she arrives home. The husband wants his wife to notice his work and accomplishments. The phone rings because someone wants to speak to you. Even I want you to read this post until the end.

Everyone wants attention.

The problem is that there isn’t enough attention for the whole world. Let’s be honest. You’ve probably been carrying a burden on your conscience for not giving the amount of attention you’d like to a certain person. You live each day telling yourself you’re going to call her, visit him, go eat lunch together and chat, but months have come and gone and nothing. Communication has been scarce.

There are those who understand. After all, we only have 24 hours in a day.

However, some would like to die or kill to get the attention they desire. These people, unfortunately, are the ones who suffer most.

A person yearning for attention takes on one or more of these attitudes or characteristics…

• Speaks a lot or not enough (unbalanced)
• Creates drama
• Stays grumpy
• Gets mad at someone, doesn’t speak to them for days
• Is too worried about special dates (birthdays, mother’s/father’s day, etc.)
• Acts like the victim (They did this to me…)
• Torments themselves (Look how I suffer…)
• Hard to live with (No one likes me)
• Hard to understand (Not even Einstein could decipher them)
• Lives whining (negative)
• Chooses someone to spend energy on (as they don’t have a lot of friends, when they get one, they take up all their time)
• Speaks badly about others, everyone has flaws except her

This person probably didn’t even finish reading this post without getting angry at me. But my goal is not to provoke them but invite them to reflect. If you suffer from the lack of attention, not being recognized or appreciated, you have two options:

1. Pick up a stick and whack those not giving you enough attention until they promise to double the attention they give you, (and repeat if someone blinks.)
2. Adjust your expectations and don’t depend on the attention of others.

Do you want some advice? Choose the second. At least you won’t end up in jail. (You might not like the attention you’ll get there.)

Learn to like yourself. Focus on your qualities. Be more understanding of people. Expect less. Become a person others would miss when you’re not around.

The paradox is that the more attention you seek in people, the less they want to give it to you. The best attention is the one that is given, not demanded.

Do you suffer due to lack of attention? Do you live with someone like this? What can you do to help yourself or this person? Were you once like this and changed? How? Leave your comment below.