Negative Interactions

This past week must have been meant to propel me forward at an astronomical rate because I saw the best and worst of people with two different interactions.

Interaction1: I was working with a group (me +3) to develop a document. Two people were wonderful, committed and honest. The third person, who coincidentally had the most to gain, was a nightmare - - dishonest, missing deadlines, taking credit for our work, and being uninformed and unprepared.

We've all met her - - there is one in every group. But what was incredible was that she tried to gas-light me on each call. Clearly I triggered her. This is a teaser - keep reading to find out what happened.

Interaction 2: I was contemplating volunteering with a new charity and was on a call to hear about it. Within a couple minutes, it became clear that this was a non-starter for me. The leader rambled, went off on rants, and focused everything on her. Each sentence began with "I". I tried to ask a question and she spoke over me. I tried again, and she once again spoke over me with her non-sensical verbal garbage. That was the end for me. I hung up. But of course, before I did, I heard her tell the rest "I must have really offended her." as she laughed.

So here is the lesson: People who behave badly only affect you if you let them.

Earlier in my career, I would have verbally annihilated these people. But now.......

These people are irrelevant to me. The gas-lighting did not work. I saw what she was doing immediately and decided that she is acting out of her own insecurity. That is her problem - not mine. She has to do the work on herself. The poor communication, lack of awareness, and laughing at me by the charity did not bother me because I don't know the person or care to know the person. She lost out on my talents, for which I will apply elsewhere.

Distasteful people appear everywhere. When it is in business, we are taught to be polite and end up tolerating it. We get stuck working with them and have to figure out how. I don't think it is healthy to be around these types. So I "bubble out" people with negative energy (you feel them when you are near them), view them for the flawed people they are, and attempt to keep a distance. It is a lot of work, but the key here is to decide where your fights are and don't get sucked into dealing with these types. They are proud of themselves for their horribleness. Don't give them the benefit of being affected.

Distasteful people please stay away from me. For those with integrity who want to take control of who has access to you, schedule a complementary call at https:/www.calendly.com/libby-coaching or [email protected].