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Throughout our day, we have many interactions with people, and sometimes the interactions can leave us with a bad taste in the mouth. Mindfulness is an avenue that can let those things roll off our back.
Unfortunately, there’s no magic trick to change other people’s behavior. You may think “What’s their problem?” but it becomes your problem when you allow your own buttons to get pushed by how you interpret their response.
Take a Mindful Pause Before You Let Someone Affect You
We don’t always see things as they are. We see them as we are. Become aware of how you greet people or talk to them. Do you notice if you give people the same civility you would like?
The “Fundamental attribution error” is when we explain our own poor behavior as the result of circumstances while regarding others bad behaviors as reflective of their personalities. Perhaps people aren’t always as bad as they come across.
Today during difficult interactions with others, pause and consider the circumstances, and become aware of your reactions. Choose the lens through which you see things, because it just feels better to be nice and supportive (as opposed to bitter and vindictive).