Don’t be an NPC

The other day, I overheard one of my boys say to his brother “You're such an NPC.”

Clueless to the teen lingo, and not really sure if he was insulting or complimenting him (wishful thinking), I asked what an NPC is.

“Non- playable character— It's a video game thing.”

Me: “What does a non-playable character do?”

“They don't do anything— They can only do what they're programmed to do.”

NPCs are the random background characters that don't really add any substance. Like Yoshi in Super Mario Brothers.

Calling someone an NPC insinuates that they lack independent thought and blindly follow the crowd.

🤡🐑I'm not one for name calling, but OMG do I ever know A LOT of NPCs. Maybe you do too?

It's pretty easy to spot NPCs out in the world, but less easy to see in ourselves.

Every time we blame something outside of ourselves for our mood and emotions, we're being NPCs.

Think of the last time you felt like a victim of the world. There's no end to circumstances we can blame: The economy. The president. Our parents. Our kids. Our bosses. Our bank accounts. Racism. Sexism. Ageism. Ableism. The medical industrial complex. Big Pharma. Patriarchy. Capitalism. Bill Gates. Donald Trump.

The next time your inner NPC surfaces, remind yourself that, while there are MANY things out of your control, you can always ALWAYS control your response.

🦄DON'T BE AN NPC ✨