Most people are too busy to do everything they want to do and meet expectations of others. For many people, this results in guilt trips by friends or family. Do they want you to feel guilty? Probably not. More likely they want to change your behavior.

They’re trying to satisfy an unmet need. Making you feel guilty is an attempt to persuade you to help. Keeping in mind that only you can control how you feel, here are some alternatives:

• Assume good intentions. Instead of feeling guilty, thank them for thinking of you.
• Think about or ask them what they need. Maybe you can satisfy it another way (no guilt trip required). If not, they might be satisfied with being understood.

Can you replace feeling guilty with empathy and understanding?