Why do I keep attracting people who take all the room

Syel · 25 October 2026

You get home from the evening and realise you spent three hours listening. Nobody asked how you were, and you didn't say.

At the start, it feels good. You ask the right questions, you laugh at the right moment, you say "I don't mind" when it's time to pick the restaurant. The other person finally feels heard, and stays. That touches me, because it's real generosity. Only, you left your chair empty and nobody asked you to.

So the room fills up: the other person's stories, their moods, their schedule. When you finally want to talk about yourself, there's no corner left, and you tell yourself it's not the moment. People who like to take all the room stay where they're given just as much. Little by little, you fade out of your own story. Does that sound like you?