We have all had our share of difficult people in our lives. We find them at work and as relatives that we can’t ignore. What is the best way to deal with a difficult person with ease?? #DifficultPeople
Here are some tips that you will find helpful to deal with those difficult people in your life:
1- DON’T TAKE THEM PERSONALLY: We get in trouble when we take these personally and make it an emotional subject. Much of the difficulty in dealing with so-called difficult people come from any combination of these things-
1) These people display a mean streak
2) They don’t respect boundaries
3) They are very critical in nature
Once you understand what you are dealing with then you can apply appropriate strategies to deal with them.
When someone is mean towards you they are displaying their inner frustration and turmoil. The best course of action is to not get involved in a tit for tat situation and escalate the situation. You might have heard- “When you fight with a pig, you both get dirty and the pig loves it”
When someone doesn’t respect boundaries then they are likely to be demanding and disrespectful. The best course of action to deal with such a person is to clearly set expectations from the very beginning and get them to agree on an expected outcome in advance. That way there is no room left for them to push things around.
When you are dealing with a critical person then acknowledge but don’t accept their opinion. It is preferable to avoid a person who doesn’t have anything else to offer other than a negative criticism. They will suck your positive energy and leave you exhausted. However, in the workplace and in a relationship sometimes they are unavoidable. Try to remain calm when dealing with them and always remember that they are only spouting their own opinions. Everybody has an opinion and you don’t have to accept their opinion if you don’t want to.
2- FIND THEIR KERNEL OF TRUTH If you want to go beyond just handling the difficult people and want to make them your raving fans. While at the same time taking your game to the next level then you might take the next step and find their version of the truth. Find if their criticism has any shred of truth. Many times there is a little bit of fire behind all the smokes.
This will help you grow tremendously as these people will inadvertently will provide you with THE KEY to your self-growth.
However, this is only an advanced approach and there is a danger of self-criticism if you have not developed true objectivity.
3- BUILD A SUPPORT NETWORK AROUND YOU: You should find people who love you, like you and support what you are doing at the workplace and outside. These are your allies and they will help buffer the negativity coming from the difficult people.
it is always much easier to have a lot of positive support that drowns out the negativity from a few difficult people. You might have heard that – ” The easiest way to make a line drawn on the ground shorter is to draw another line bigger than that.”
Build a network of positive supporters behind you by helping these people in their time of need. Emotional support in times of stress and need is invaluable and needs to be treasured and appreciated.
Hopefully, you will find these tips useful to deal with the difficult people in your relationships and at the workplace. Let us know about your experience with a difficult person in your life and how you dealt with them? Share your own tips to support others in need.