Every person has some limitations and idiosyncrasies which surface at various points in time. These precious people could be in our personal or professional life, however dealing with them is an essential part of our life to keep enjoying the brighter sides of them. Very often understanding the situation and addressing accordingly is the way out, provided our wisdom is active at such situations.
These people could be our parents, children, team members, supervisors, peers, or clients … who we value in our life the most for mutual success and we’ll being in life. Yet prioritizing wisdom in times when they become difficult is a challenging space to be in. This close inner circle of people who you live with every day can sometimes force you up the wall, where you start losing your sanity. I am sure all of us feel this dichotomy in life, where people who make us feel at the top of the world can also make us feel down and out.
The best way to deal with these otherwise beautiful people who we want in life without their surprising mood swings…is to build our wisdom and strategize in advance. If you suddenly face a situation, it’s harder to deal with it. However, if you understand the pattern and create your action plan, then you are surely not going to get tormented by it.
Most of often you just happened to be in front of them at the wrong time. The reason for their mood or anger has barely anything to do with you. It is an internal frustration that is externalized by the inappropriate expression on people who are close to them. Empathizing with people during their challenging times, by awareness and appreciation can help you build the relationship better.
Generally the stimulus attracts an equally harsh reaction, which one needs to refrain from. It is tough to have an understanding reaction to an unreasonable action…however that is what helps us deal with people in their anger, sorrow, or breaking down moment. The reaction also becomes very intense when we are attached to the person -cause -situation.
Different people have different ways of expression, during unfavorable times, some take it out on others, some torment themselves, others just go within and isolate. However developing the capability of dealing with people and situations, can nurture the skill of being a great leader-coach-confidante – friend -parent -people practice expert.
6 Techniques of Dealing with Difficult People :
- Extend Empathy -When someone starts attacking you for no reason, it is difficult to empathize. However, we need to work on this in advance, to be able to rise to the occasion when we are confronted with it. Thus empathy as a value irrespective of who is in front of you needs to be practiced as a skill before you wear it as your persona.
- Compassion -Compassion to the person who is being difficult can help resolve the issue. Rarely do we understand what other people go through, even when we share the same roof… The difficult person may be going through a very tough ordeal or an inner conflict that we are not aware of. Thus compassion can be a way to start supporting the person to come out of it.
- Give Space – Giving space and silence, for healing and calming down can be an effective way to delay the dialogue and support at more opportune times. This also gives the other person time to gain balance and peace, before any communication.
- Staying Calm – Working with a difficult person on a project can be infuriating. When you receive an email or message from the person it leads to a brawl, which could have other repercussions. Thus the best way to deal is to stay calm till you can rationally deal with it.
- Practice Self Control -Not Watching our reaction to difficult people can further spoil the situation. We must watch our words or need to give back when we feel like a scapegoat. It is easy to follow Newton’s Third Law !-(To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.) It comes naturally to us. Thus controlling our reaction is a wise way to operate to get the best outcome.
- Manage Conflict -Establish boundaries and hold your ground to manage the conflict. We also need to respect ourselves during such times and not allow others to bully us. Sometimes giving in too much can also make this a regular practice…Thus manage conflict to voice your thoughts and build an understanding rather than giving in to the poor treatment.
To know more on how to deal with difficult people explore the following reads:
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