It takes a bigger person to deal with people who dislike you. I will be the first one to say that I sometimes don't handle stressful situations well. I lash out but I'm always the first one to apologize. I wish I could be the person who lets it go and is able to keep my temper under control. I used to have a longer fuse, but as I grow older, I lose my patience for shenanigans. It's funny how the universe shows you what you need to learn and I need to learn to not take things as seriously. You could be walking down the street one day and the universe presents you with something that can either make or break your perception.

Currently, I am forced to work with the main people who don't like or respect me on a special project at work. This would be a chance to show how I work with people of differing work ethics. It's interesting when someone feels intimidated by someone that they attack them every chance they have. I was one of those people until I learned that it is a waste of energy. It truly sucks being the bigger person when you have some fight in you still. Seeing people who attack because they are scared or misunderstood is an eye-opening experience. The lesson that our parents teach us that people who want to be like us will attack us doesn't sound like an "old wives tale" anymore. Like my husband says, "the one finger that is pointed at me, there is a thousand pointing back at you."

It truly takes a while to center yourself enough to not waste energy on attacking others verbally. The best thing to do is to remove yourself from the situation. Separate yourself and work on a different side of the project. When you are separated from a hard situation, it helps you regroup and plan the best way to proceed. One needs to accept that they aren't going to be liked by everyone. If you have nobody that dislikes you, it shows that you haven't lived. You shouldn't live your life to appease everyone. It takes a bigger person to let stuff go. What I mean by a bigger person is that you let things go and don't waste your energy on the negativity. It's a mark of a true leader to be respectful to those who don't respect you.

Nobody likes to be disliked and it's sometimes isn't easy to ignore the haters. Whenever someone attacks you verbally, it's normally they have a problem with themselves. My favorite saying growing up is " hate is like a mirror." What can be said from that is that people see the things they hate about themselves in someone else and that's the reason they dislike or "hate" you. I used to not believe it, but growing up has shown my examples. Treasure those who love you and want to see you grow. Throw away those who constantly tear you down. Wasting the energy on someone or people will get you nowhere.