How Not To Take Every Comment Personally

In today’s, hectic life, at one point or another, we all have taken comments (hurtful and no-so-hurtful ones) little too personally even when there was no need to do so.

There are so many people out there, who are so sensitive that even a tiny remark to correct their mistake can hurt them, as in their opinion (probably) entire world is out to get them. But what they need to understand is when people don’t have enough time for themselves how they can possibly think about others.

And taking things personally all the time either in your personal or professional life can hurt you or make you resentful, angry and bitter.

Below are listed some tips on how not to take every little comment personally:

• Know Their Side Of Story: Don’t become a self-proclaimed martyr just because someone said something nasty to you. Remember, there are always two sides to every story. It’s possible that other person was in a bad mood and in irritation ended up being hurtful to you without being aware of it. Since life is too fast and hectic these days, keeping your calm all the time is not possible, same goes for others as well. Also, observe how that person is behaving with others around. If his/her behavior is nice with others, except you, then confront him/her and firmly tell him/her to stay away from you, if s/he cannot change their attitude.

• Give Vent To Your Hurtful Feelings: Don’t ever bottle up hurtful feelings inside you, either make the conscious decision of discarding them or give vent to them. Talk to a family member or a friend about how you are feeling. The best option, be brave enough to tell the person, who made the nasty comment that his/her comment had caused you hurt and you don’t appreciate such comments/behavior.
  
• See The Larger Picture: Understand, not every remark is a pre-mediated attack on you or meant to degrade you, e.g. your boss’s curt email regarding an assignment. In this scenario, assess the situation before shooting an equally curt reply just because you felt hurt. What if point raised by your boss is right? Even if it isn’t, be polite anyways. Lift your mood and move on with your life, not every trifling issue is worth wasting time on.

• Control Your Emotions: Realize, whether you are at home or at your workplace, acting as a sulking party would not work in your favor. At home this behavior will affect your relationships with your family and at workplace it will ruin your reputation.
  Instead of reacting badly, be assertive and learn not just to control your emotional response but also to tackle the situation with integrity.

Lastly, don’t give people unnecessary power to hurt you. Some people can manipulate your sensitive nature to cause you more suffering. Most importantly, stop being so sensitive that even someone’s harmless joke seem like an offensive remark.

Priyanka Sharma