If you spend any time at home during the day, you’ve likely seen at least a glimpse of one of the dozens of the talk shows that fill up the late morning and early afternoon hours.
There are shows that give paternity tests, lie detector tests, drug tests and every other test imaginable to try to catch a loved one in the middle of deceit, and there are shows that have guests who are struggling with addiction, tragedy and more. Some promote physical fights and scantily clad clothing, and others are more family friendly and have a calm and professional approach.
Here are just a few lessons that even the craziest talk shows teach:
#1: Everyone has struggles
Whether you are watching a talk show that features celebrities or common folks like you and I, it is a stark reminder that everyone has struggles.
Some people are plagued with addictions, whereas others have suffered abuse. Some have found ways to move past their issues and others are absolutely drowning and looking for a life preserver.
One of the most shocking realizations from talk shows may be that you can’t necessarily tell what is going on in a person’s world by just looking at them. Most of the guests, if you passed them on the street, would strike you as completely “normal”.
#2: Sometimes you make your own problems worse
Talk shows are based on people’s bad choices. It is their decision to cheat, lie, steal, do drugs, drink excessively and more that make the shows interesting. However, all of these types of choices just seem to make the original situation worse than before.
Just because someone makes a decision that leaves us feeling wronged doesn’t mean that we have to respond inappropriately. Sometimes the sweetest revenge is by choosing to take the high road while the culprit of your misery is left wallowing in their own unhappiness.
#3: If you have to give your partner a test, you probably shouldn’t be together
A common theme to a majority of the talk shows seems to revolve around mistrust. Husbands are cheating on wives, women are having children with men that aren’t their husbands or boyfriends, and on and on.
If you have to give your partner a test to believe that they are being faithful and true, is it really going to work in the long run?
Admittedly, there are some occasions where a person’s past is haunting them and their partner is totally innocent. Maybe in that instance, these tests are beneficial as they prove faithfulness. But a majority of the time someone has been dishonest to the person they claim to love yet, for some reason, they want to stay together.
Why go through the day to day turmoil of mistrust when you could have a relationship with someone who you don’t have to wonder is true to you?
#4: Chaos solves nothing
If there is one common theme about certain talk shows, it is that everyone is shouting and screaming at each other almost the entire hour. You know the ones.
Really? If you can’t even hear your own self talk, what makes you think that the person you are shouting at can hear you either?
Communication is the key to any relationship, whether with your partner, children, coworker or boss. If the two of you can’t talk like two adults, you’re probably not going to get very far.
Pointing fingers and accusing doesn’t do any good either. All it does is put the other person on the defensive and creates an impasse where neither of you want to budge. Nothing can be accomplished at that point.
#5: Common sense isn’t so common
Maybe it isn’t so much a lack of common sense that a lot of talk show guests have, but more of a lack of realization that all actions have consequences. They often don’t seem to think situations through in advance to figure out what will happen if they make certain choices.
Admittedly, it is often fairly easy for an outsider to look in and see when a decision is going to go downhill, but not so easy to see if you are the one in the middle of the situation.
However, if you can look objectively at what you are doing, you may see that danger lies ahead.
#6: There is something to be learned from everyone
It doesn’t matter how cheesy or over the top a talk show is, there is something to be learned from everyone on it. It’s easy to sit and laugh at the people on these shows, or shake your head in disbelief, but it is also a wonderful opportunity to learn from them so you don’t make the same bad choices.
Sometimes you may even see a little glimpse of yourself in the person on the stage when they share how they feel or what they endured. They may not teach you the right way to handle things, but you will definitely learn what doesn’t work!
#7: Your life isn’t so bad
At the end of the day, or end of the show as it may be, watching all of the chaos and drama in other people’s world can make you realize that your life isn’t so bad after all.
You may have your struggles from time to time, but if you’re not beaten, lied to, cheated on, in the middle of a drug or alcohol addiction, dealing with unruly children, have parents that are overbearing, or any other travesty, then you’re doing pretty darn good.
If you choose to live a pretty quiet, simple life there is nothing wrong with that. You’ll never see yourself on a talk show, but when you want a little drama, all you have to do is turn on the television and it is right there.
Just be sure to turn it off when you’ve had enough.
Cover photo: solid-state-logic.com
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