Have you ever had a coworker that just kind of feels like sandpaper when you chat with them? You find yourself ditching and dodging away from them on your way to the bathroom or coffee area?
Or perhaps, even worse, you have a friendship that has gone down this route. Somehow your conversations with Nancy now only include negative things and it’s a bit tiring, ya know?
Sister, if you can relate, you’re not alone. It’s totally normal (and human) to not get along with everyone. Because, sometimes, people are just flat out difficult. And, if you’re anything like me, “occasionally” (don’t ask me to define how often ‘occasionally’ means in my household 🙂 ) I’m the culprit that’s being the crabby pants, difficult one.
But, it’s how you navigate these relationships that will result in the negativity not overtaking all your conversations and sucking your emotional capacity. So whether it’s a friendship, working relationship, in-laws, or spouse – I believe the solution to difficult people lies in shifting your mindset as well as your actions.
My absolute, #1 tip in how to deal with difficult people is
Not to ‘deal’ with them at all, but to ‘love’ them instead.
Let me tell you what I mean. Begin to swap out the word DEAL for LOVE and see how your heart and actions start to change.
You ‘deal’ with muddy, puppy paws, or you ‘deal’ with an unorganized house. You LOVE a person – even if they are difficult. You love them because you love people, you don’t deal with them.
I firmly believe when you swap out your mindset for “how can I love this person” from “how can I deal with this difficult person” – your empathy goes way up, which results in a much more lovely response to them.
In this episode, I dive into this and more on how to navigate those difficult people in your life. You’ll learn:
- Tangible action steps on how and why it’s appropriate to distance yourself;
- Why it’s important to flip the script when you are being the difficult one;
- How to separate yourself from an emotional, knee-jerk reaction; and
- And exactly what it means to ‘balance the bonds’ in your life.
Sister, you’ll continue to encounter difficult people, so when you do, try to remember: The problem is not you, even if it is taken out on you. This helps to keep a clear mind and heart, and begin to take steps to the best, possible outcome from this relationship.
As mentioned, I’ve done other episode on friendships and navigating dating relationships. If you’d like more on that topic, here are the specific episodes mentioned:
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