It’s the holiday season and there’s no better time to be hit with a truckload of ‘see finish’. In this article, we’ll explain what ‘see finish’ means, and show you how you can avoid it.
Setting boundaries is normal human behavior. You could even call it survival instinct. This is one of the ways you can protect your personal space. However, you can choose to remove your boundaries for certain people, or leave them in place to keep others at a distance and avoid ‘see finish.’
What does setting boundaries have to do with ‘see finish’? Let’s get into it.
What’s the meaning of see finish?
‘See finish’ is a Nigerian pidgin slang that loosely translates to the popular expression, ‘familiarity breeds contempt.’ ‘See finish’ happens when people lose the respect they have for you, or don’t bother about matters that concern you, because you’ve let them go beyond your boundaries. When you say that someone has ‘seen you finish’, it means that they have treated you with disrespect, or they have disregarded your feelings because they know quite a lot about you.
Family members, partners, colleagues, and friends can fall into the category of people that take you for granted.
The more you let people in, the more ammunition they can use against you.
More knowledge can lead to less liking.
For context:
Kachi: I’ll be coming home for Christmas.
Auntie J: Lovely. We’ve missed you. By the way, did you hear that Grace is getting married this December?
Kachi: Really? That’s great. I’m happy for her.
Auntie J: Ehn ehn! You are happy for her. When will you get married so that we can be happy for you too?
Kachi: I’ll get married when the time is right, Auntie J. Na ‘see finish’ dey cause all this kain talk. (It is ‘see finish’ that is making you say this to me).
When ‘see finish’ happens (could be provoked or unprovoked), it can hurt or embarrass you. When you think about it, it is only the people who are close to you that know your flaws and secrets. Alas, proximity in any kind of relationship can breed ‘see finish’.
Four ways to avoid ‘see finish’ during the holidays
Mind your business: The less you poke your nose into things that don’t concern you, the lesser the chances of people poking their noses into your matters.
Keep it to yourself: Not everything that happens in your life needs to be shared on social media.
Tread with caution: You need to be careful of the people you let into your life.
Stay positive: Alas, you can’t control people’s actions, but you can control how you react. Keep a positive attitude to overcome the negative feelings that can arise after someone ‘has seen you finish.’
If you have someone that you want to ‘see finish’ this holiday, I’d advise you not to do so. If you want to go ahead, well you can play it better when you catch the person off guard. Just brace yourself for a clap-back, and the worst-case scenario of losing a friend’s affection and swallowing a huge dose of misery.
REFERENCES
