Do you have demanding people in your life? I know that this is a ridiculous question for me to ask. Everyone does! They come disguised in many forms. It could be a relative, family member, friend, boss, co-worker, customers, or someone who we casually come in contact with such as in a grocery store. Have I left anyone out? Feel free to add to the list!

Have you ever wished that you didn’t have to deal with people all the time? I know that I have. There are some people who cause me to have anxiety, frustration, anger, and in some cases cause me to be just like them…DEMANDING, UNREASONABLE, AND DIFFICULT TO BE AROUND. Can anyone relate to my plight?

In order to keep my sanity and avoid needless stress, I’ve come up with some strategies to lighten my emotional and physical load. They are as follows:

• Ignore the behavior. There are some people who don’t deserve my attention. These include people who I come in contact with who aren’t important to me. Ignoring and not feeding into a person’s negative energy conserves my energy.
• Change your own behavior. We are often not the catalyst for their difficult behavior, but sometimes we are. Have you had people in your life who have rubbed you the wrong way? Doesn’t it stand to reason that we may be causing that reaction in someone else? Frequently, we’re blind to our own shortcomings. It’s important to reflect on them and make changes as needed. We can’t change the other person’s behavior, but we CAN change our own.
• Decide to put up with it, at least temporarily. There are times when you have to put up with difficult people for the time being. You may tolerate a demanding boss because you need the job. Use your angst to motivate you to find a better situation.
• Try to understand the demanding person. Take the time to understand the other person’s motivation for acting the way they do. Highly sensitive people have the unique ability to do this. For example, let’s say you have a demanding boss who criticizes you needlessly. You might calmly solicit and careful consider his or her feedback so that you can better understand the concerns. You may think the criticism is unfair but often there is a kernel of truth in there. Why not try being open-minded? I admit that this is not an easy thing to do! How many people would actually do this? Not many, but if you do, you would stand out from others and earn respect for your openness.

Do you have any demanding people in your life? I’m interested in any thoughts or comments that you have.

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