This week I have had a few ‘interesting’ encounters where my patience had been tested. One was more indirect, there were a few very naughty teenagers behaving obnoxiously at a local park. There wasn’t anything criminal or serious but I could feel the people around were a little uncomfortable. The other interaction was that I had a ‘heated’ discussion with a friend about a particular topic. In either one of these cases, it was difficult to deal with emotionally because I was drawn into it and it was hard to remain calm. But luckily I was able to come out of them and think clearly again which prompted me to write this post. So the question is, how do we deal with challenging interactions with people?
The Key Is How We Respond To Situations
It’s probably hard to have a one-size-fits-all answer that fixes everything just like that. But after a bit of reflection and research, the solution seems to be how we react to the situation rather than fixing the problem. So the question we should be asking ourselves is, how do we react or respond to challenging interactions? When we react to a challenging interaction or situation we often feel the need to respond with words or actions. It’s as if we get mystically seduced by the argument or problem. We often get drawn into something unpleasant and it’s hard to remain calm. The key here is to not be seduced by the argument or debate or whatever situation that’s sucking us in. By simply noticing our own reaction is a good start. The more we practise this, the easier it becomes after a while. At some point, we should be able to have the choice of not reacting to the situation at all.
Self-awareness As A Reminder
We may not be able to change other people or the situation easily, if at all. What we have full control over is our ability to react to the situation. It is all about us and our inner world as opposed to the outer world. Too often we don’t seem to have any control and are been drawn into those arguments or situations either physically or emotionally. The goal for us is to be able to be in a position where we have the choice not to be sucked into the unpleasant situation. Through the practice of self-awareness and alertness we should all become better at this.