4 Ways To Help You Deal With Difficult People

1. Use difficult people for growth

1.1. If someone is being argumentative, use it as a chance to practice non-reactivity.

1.2. If someone is criticizing you, use it as an opportunity to practice your perspective-taking skills.

1.3. If someone is acting out in unawareness, use it as a chance to practice compassion.

1.4. If someone is being unreasonable, use it as a chance to practice tolerance.

2. Visualize negativity as a beam of white light

2.1. When triggered by negativity, visualize this energy as a beam of white light coming towards you.

2.2. Instead of it crashing against you, however, picture the light flowing through you, without making an impact.

2.3. You can also visualize the light glowing brighter as it floods your body, and then watch it dissipate as it goes out the other side.

2.4. This is a powerful technique, robbing difficult people of their ability to unsettle you with their negative energy.

3. Stop pulling the trigger

3.1. If you keep getting triggered by difficult people, stop putting yourself in the firing line.

3.2. If a negative conversation starts, remove yourself from the situation.

3.3. If you have difficult friends, replace them with like-minded ones.

3.4. If you work with difficult people, ask to be moved to another area, or simply don’t engage.

4. Acceptance

4.1. When you can't avoid difficult people, accept it completely, at least until you can make changes.

4.2. Don’t get acceptance confused with giving up, however.

4.3. Acceptance isn’t passive. It’s often the first step towards corrective action.

4.4. But in the moment, accept the facts, no matter what.