My neighbor said 'we all have our secrets' when I asked about his late-night car repairs, and it's been on my mind for weeks.

3 comments

3 Comments

A psychology article I read said that phrase is often a deflection tactic. It puts the focus back on you to make you feel uneasy. Your neighbor likely wanted to end the chat without giving a real answer. In my experience, people who say things like that are just guarding their privacy. It probably has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with him not wanting to talk. I would take nina735's advice and let it go.

nina73517d ago

That "we all have our secrets" line is a classic way to shut down a question. He probably just didn't want to explain his weird hobby. I'd try to forget about it.

simonb926d ago

That line is a total conversation ender, for sure. It's meant to make you back off and question yourself instead of him. My uncle used to say stuff like that when you'd ask about his weird collection of locked boxes in the garage. It just shuts down any follow-up. The guy was fixing his car, not burying a body. He probably just didn't want to admit he broke the headlight backing into his own trash cans.