When you ask any manager worth his penny, what would the greatest challenge in his profession be, his quick response would be, managing people. People are the currency of life. They are everywhere. From kith and kin to friends and enemies, from colleagues to acquaintances, people adore your life. They give you happiness, joy and open your mind to possibilities. They give you reasons to think, reasons to love them and reasons to hate them. More or less, they are all different. Different varieties, different behavioural characteristics and they are different just like the different fingers that adore your hand. As they say, variety is the spice of life; different types of people that one meets in life provokes, instigates and ultimately leads him to his destiny.
Of all the people that one meets in life, mean or obnoxious people are the real game changers. They appear most of the time as being created to be loathing, selfish and greedy. They are designed to provoke you, instigate you and watch you rot and burn with glee and laughter. Everything that you do for them or for that matter anywhere doesn’t mean anything to them. They demand attention from you, they shout and yell at you and they wouldn’t even bother to care about you. For them, most of the time they are the centre of their universe and everyone are mere constellations or planets that orbit around them.
Many of my readers here would agree with each and every word that is being said here. I have seen many mean people in my life and many times have acted being the mean one. Well that is life. One day, it makes you the hero and the next day you become the anti-thesis of what you were or preached once. So the question here is not to who is mean but how do you manage one? I have listed some few suggestions based on my experiences dealing with such people.
- Most of the time, don’t engage them. Don’t be their audience unless they have some ingenious plan to treat world hunger or cure cancer.
- Understand that just like you, they are also human. So this brings with it the usual package of stupidity, mediocrity and random behaviours.
- Learn to love them for what they are, and not what they have become. I always believe that God places people, good or bad in your life for a reason. Those whom he deems unnecessary exits your life quickly and those that are relevant, good or bad, linger around.
- Don’t ignore the mean and obnoxious people in your life because sometimes in their words and intent, one can find important cues that opens a mirror into who you really are. Such a self introspection is immensely valuable in unleashing your true potential.
I would like to conclude by mentioning what I mentioned in the beginning. People are currency. How you use it is important.
Tenny Thomas 