Everybody knows the 'Tipping Point'. Let me recall for those who are uninitiated (also for those who may have forgotten). It is that magic moment when an idea , trend or social behaviour crosses a threshold and thence tips to spread like wild fire. A single sick person has potential to start an epidemic. Tipping Point is that exact point when the potential is triggered into becoming a reality. It is that Point (say in social media) when an interesting message actually becomes 'viral'.
But most people are not familiar with its social step brother - the 'Tripping Point'. To 'trip' means to catch one's foot between something and thus, lose balance to fall down and cause self-injury.
In the space of people management - 'Tripping Point' is linked to 'Attention' that a person requires. It is human and good to need attention. Everybody does. Not receiving it may injure one's self-esteem. But how much of attention is right and enough ? It's a tricky balance which the wise know and fools trip over. Lack of attention received leads to a identity loss. However, excessive need for attention leads to unacceptable demonstrative behaviours which go overboard in their attention seeking nature. This leads to a person losing his social standing .... thus tripping and losing credibility.
We experience this Attention thing everyday - at home, at work, in families, in social circles, in politics ... just about everywhere. Some do it gracefully and some others, brazenly. The trick is in determining the fine-line balance when need for attention trips and actually becomes destructive to yourself.
If you keep your eyes and ears open, you will get signals to stop when you are crossing over. But need for attention blinds and deafens one...you thus miss all the signals to Stop !