The bragger. The negative person. The optimist. The pessimist. The loud one. The emotional one. The thinker. The introvert. The simple thinker. The pleasant one. The irritating one. And so on………
We never cease to be amazed by how other people act in different situations. They are given credit when they do something good or effective and are gossiped about when they fail or do something bad. You see, each of us can never win.
Many try to first size up the other person and then adjust their behavior and interactions around the other person. Most then try to get the other person to adjust themselves to what they want done, to react the way they do, and to behave in the same way.
I have seen so many times where friends, co-workers, and colleagues try to manage other personalities by telling them that they are wrong, they don’t behave properly, and that they need to change. It doesn’t work. It rarely does.
We make the mistake, over and over again, to bend our conversations around personality instead of issues. Others become resistant to our managing their personality and we run around believing it was they who sabotaged what needed to get done.
Behavior will change or improve in others when you keep to issues that can be solved. And then solve them together. For issues that are personal we should only listen, give advice when asked, and move on in our day.
You need to almost be selfish, in a sense, to resolve issues with reasonable solutions that those around you buy into and move on. Becoming frustrated over personality only degrades our energy. Personalities will come around as you practice a more objective, less emotional, and more respectful approach to those around you that you need to work with.
Try it. You might just be surprised.