Side effects. When most people hear this word, medicine comes to the mind majority of the time. People think of side effects as something that happens as a reaction to someone taking something. However, there are side effects to everything. Dictionary.com gives two definitions for side effects, and they are as follows:
1)any effect of a drug, chemical, or other medicine that is in addition to its intended effect, especially an effect that is harmful or unpleasant.
and
2)any accompanying or consequential and usually detrimental effect as the result from an act, person, place or thing.
Too often, do we as humans, do things for ourselves, and not think about the side effects that it may have on us in the future or even people around us or those who love us.
I will take myself for example.
When Jonathan and I first started dating, I wanted him around allllll the time. And not like how it was with some of my exs. I wanted them around because of fear of what they were doing when I wasn't with them. I genuinely enjoy Jonathan's company and if I went more than a couple hours without him, I would really miss him.
It got to a point where I wanted him to spend the night, even when I was living with my mother. Looking back now, I realize my selfishness. I was only thinking about myself. I wasn't thinking about how having a young man spend the night in my mother's house was effecting other people in the household, for example my younger siblings.
I wasn't thinking about how it would effect them, coming down to my room and seeing Jonathan just laying in my bed with his pjs on or just some basketball shorts and a tank top.
I wasn't thinking about how Jonathan spending the night at my house was effecting HIS younger brother. With his brother being as an impressionable age. We were sending off all of the wrong signals. But at the time, that wasn't the thought on our minds. We weren't thinking about the side effects.
I write all this to say, that people need to be more conscious in their actions. All parties need to be considered when making decisions and because of the day and age that we live in, most decisions needs to be made with alot of thoughtfulness and urgency.
For those who have children, women, don't allow a man to walk all over you. Don't allow a man to yell, shout, curse, and/or put his hands on you AT ALL but def not in front of your children. Because you don't know how that little girl will see it. She may grow up and decide, she won't be like her mother and won't let men walk all over her, or she may decide that such behavior is acceptable because she saw Mommy put up with it, so it must be ok. And what about your son? You don't want that little boy growing up thinking it's ok to be a womanizer because he either saw his daddy do it or he saw his mother put up with it. And the same goes for the young men who are fathers. You don't want your little princess to see you treating women like dirt on the bottom of your shoe because she is going to think that's the way a female is suppose to be treated. And you don't, or you shouldn't, want to give off that impression to your son that women can be treated like anything. And all of this can be summed up in one word: responsibility.
If one acts with responsibility in all that one does, the side effects, at least the bad ones, will be limited.
I know, we are only human, and we aren't perfect. But we can make more conscious decisions and try to be aware of those who will be effected. Most of the time, it's not just about us, we have siblings, cousins, children, family to consider along the way. We just have to stop a second and think about it.
"Any accompanying or consequential and usually detrimental effect as the result from an act, person, place or thing."
How detrimental the side effect of something for a person, may just depend on you. Act wisely.
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