“We give people space to express themselves, which is our gift and our curse. People feel safe around us, and share openly with us, because they know we won’t interrupt them or compete for attention. We are often content letting other people shape how conversations go.” In other words, when you’re the calm one who listens sympathetically, you can end up on the losing end of a relationship with a toxic person. That’s because emotionally needy people usually lack self-awareness—they may not even realize that they’re dominating the relationship.
