Be kind to the cruel, well maybe.

 

They say to be kind even to those who are cruel.

 This is one of the best things you could do. No matter how badly people treat you, always treat them in the way you would like to be treated. Help them when they are in need and be as nice as you can. Just because they are mean doesn’t mean that you have to be. That may be true but sometimes the mean people trigger your PTSD really bad and you want to strike back. I try extra hard to always remember that everyone here on this planet is going through the same journey of life. You really have no idea what they have gone through in the past and judging them to be mean just because of a few things they did could be a little immature. Always give them another chance to shine.

Right now with the current situation people seems to be more stressed than usual. When you are stressed you may not be able to control your emotions, especially anger. On the other hand, I do not want to be a mat that people can just wipe their feet on and insult me or be rude on purpose. Even if they are not realizing what they are doing, sometimes you have to point it out. 

Don’t fall for the temptation to sink to their level. They love a good fight and not because they are any good at arguing but they know how to push your buttons. By pushing your buttons you are tempted to verbally protect yourself. They need for you to fight back because then you are the one who lost control. You are the bad guy. When he throws the first verbal judo chop it is on you, right? How do you get around that? Be cool. Don’t react to the emotions in the room.

You can always show people the better side of you and walk away. I know easier said than done, but the more you do it, the better you get at it. Pretty soon they can say all sorts of dumb verbiage and all they get from you is nothing.

Give your emotional intelligence a quick look over and figure out how to use that to control yourself.