Getting along with difficult people

The world is full of difficult people! So let's see if we can work towards getting comfortable with all of them!

To begin: What exactly is a difficult person? I found the answer for myself after facilitating several workshops:

A difficult person is someone

who brings out the worst in me.

When I'm with a difficult person, I don't like who I become. I don't like what I do, I don't like what I say, I don't like what I think - and I especially don't like what I feel.

Sound familiar? So what is it for you? Who are your difficult people? And who do you become when you interact with them? Do you lash out or become guarded or withdrawn? Do you seethe and fume or become bitter and resentful? Do you feel helpless, powerless and out of control? Or do you feel overwhelmed and frustrated?

Over the next weeks, we'll explore why we find difficult people - well, difficult, and what we can do differently to find the peace and comfort we crave.

To get you started, see if you can answer these questions:

• Who are your difficult people?
• What do they do that makes them so difficult?
• Who finds you difficult - and why?

And by all means feel free to comment!