Ignore It and Feel Good About It!

I did it! I did something the old me would never do.

A request from someone I know has been bothering me for a week since I received it. For a couple of days, my stomach was in a twist, my mind torn between responding as requested and finding a politic way for me to shape the matter and make the request a fairer deal. This has been agony for me, because I felt it would be my fault if I don't respond, but I really didn't feel like dealing with a request I didn't think fair to begin with.

So, I ended up doing neither this nor that: it happens that the act of delaying the response has led to it feeling okay a week later. I in effect have ignored it, and it must look to the requester that I chose to ignore the request. The old me would continue to be on pins and needles, but the new me feels surprisingly liberated.

If I think more carefully about this "newly found" approach to just ignore it, I realize that I already do this to the numerous emails from vendors asking me to provide my rates for a job that I am not interested in or know will pay peanuts. I don't think twice in ignoring such messages. The difference is that this time the ignoring is done on someone who I think carries weight. I am glad I seem to have grown some strength against unreasonable demand. I'd like to think this comes with a healthier level of self-esteem and knowing my worth.