Faith and Doubt

in a Culture of Disbelief

  • Home
  • About
  • Milestones
  • Contact

Two Pills to Help You with Difficult People

April 28, 2014 Leave a Comment

Share this post:

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Email

antacidPeople around him were tangled again over petty stuff. Their arguments sounded just like the ones coming out of his playroom at home. I chuckled to myself when he asked, “Where are all the adults?!”

Congressman Tip O’Neal said,  “All politics is local.” If you work with people, you’re in politics.  If you have in-laws, you have politics. If you own a small dog with a Napoleon complex—you got it.   Constructive politics uses influence to serve. Destructive politics leverages power to control. Political manipulation can be a very subtle toxin, robbing you of life through a thousand tiny sips.

Below are two antacids which can help you thrive in politically toxic environments.  The first pill below may taste bitter, but it works.  

1)  Respond well.    Controlling personalities may provoke and then fault you for your emotional reaction. Reacting to bad behavior is like two skunks fighting—no one can tell who first caused the stink. Outwardly, responding well exposes the source of the problem. Inwardly it is like an antivenin which dilutes the toxin. Harboring anger is like sipping poison thinking your enemy will die.

2)  Know when to say when.   When people feel politically unsafe, they re-double their efforts and stop taking care of themselves.  They skip exercise to make up for time lost on all the distraction. They get up too early or stay up too late questioning everything–especially themselves. It’s draining to connect the dots, ruminating over non-verbal cues or silence. Eventually, toxic environments can blur your vision. During seasons of tension and paranoia, eat well, exercise, avoid TV and hit the sack.

A sci-fi film starring Dustin Hoffman illustrates the consequences of ignoring the symptoms. Deep below the ocean, scientists find a ship they learn is from the future, not the past. Inside is a golden, translucent sphere. They discuss looking inside the sphere, but cautiously seem to resist. Soon, strange things happen. Large jellyfish attack divers, and eels appear to have personalities. One by one, the crew disappears. Surviving members of the team suggest someone among them must have looked inside the sphere and were taken over by an evil power. But, who?

[Spoiler alert] Ultimately it’s revealed that each one of them had looked inside the sphere, but the sphere itself was not evil. It only gave them power to make their own imagination come alive. Evil came into the mix through their own fear and suspicion.

When has a toxic environment brought out your best or worst?

“…Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”  – Matt. 10:16b

Related

Filed Under: Relationships

Subscribe to Faith and Doubt

Subscribe to Faith and Doubt today and receive a free copy of Milestones.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Who is Behind Faith and Doubt?

Tim FilstonTriplets+1 Dad. Smokies trout stalker. Spandex warrior. Comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.
More about Tim.

FacebookLinkedInTwitter

Get updates from Faith and Doubt by email!


Subscribe to Faith and Doubt today and receive a free copy of Milestones.

Main Topics

  • Personal Growth
  • Relationships
  • Leadership
  • News & Culture
  • Tough Questions
  • Great Reads

Latest Tweets

  • How to Die a Little to Live More www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    February 23, 2023 12:39 PM

  • Time doesn't automatically heal all wounds. It only dulls them until we start doing this.... www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    November 18, 2022 11:27 AM

  • Turning your past into compost www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    November 17, 2022 5:15 PM

Facebook

Facebook

RSS Featured Links

  • Why Church Leaders Need to Practice Theological Triage
  • Easter Music Resources and Holy Week Playlist
  • Black Christians, White Christians, and George Washington Carver
  • How to Test Ministry Ideas
  • Chinese Christians Adapt Under New Restrictions

Latest Tweets

  • How to Die a Little to Live More www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    February 23, 2023 12:39 PM

  • Time doesn't automatically heal all wounds. It only dulls them until we start doing this.... www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    November 18, 2022 11:27 AM

RSS Leadership tips from Tony Morgan

Recent Posts

  • How to Die a Little to Live More
  • Turning your past into compost
  • How to make peace, not just keep it

all content © 2023 by Tim Filston | Design by Robin Cornett