Tip #3: Objectify the Comments Made
More Stuff from Celestine Chua of The Personal Excellence Blog.Negative people can be quite critical at times. They tend to drop insensitive comments that are hurtful, especially if they are directed at you. For example, I once had a friend who was quite tactless. She would drop jarring comments which were dismissive and critical. Initially I was bothered by her words, wondering why she had to be so critical every time she spoke. I also wondered if there was something wrong with me – that perhaps I wasn’t good enough. However, when I observed her interactions with our common friends, I realized she did this to them too. Her comments were not personal attacks – it was just her being the way she was.
Recognize that the negative person usually means no harm – he/she is just caught up in his/her negativity. Start by learning how to deal with critical comments. Objectify the comments made – Rather than take his/her words personally, recognize that he/she is just offering a point of view. Sieve out the underlying message and see if there is anything you can learn from what he/she said.
***And Bill said, "Don't you hate it when we professionals take such a rational view of things? Like...Sieve out the underlying message and see if there is anything you can learn from what he/she said. Makes me want to stick my finger down my throat. Most of us are not even close to being that rational and unemotional. Criticism gets our goat. We do not like it and we do not like the people who do it to us. However, there is some truth in what Celestine wrote. See if there is anything you can learn from what she wrote. Don't laugh". Please visit Celestine's Blog. I think you will enjoy it.
