Mike CernovichVerified account

Life's too short.

I see both tactics as equally draining: trying to appease them to no avail, or fighting hard to deflect/ignore. If you’re a naturally compassionate and empathetic person, at some point their toxicity will get to you.

It only gets worse they never get better

I move along.

Haha “not worth it”

When I've encountered difficult persons, I've felt compelled to be the Fixer (or Cooler) to make things better. Has taken me a long time to get beyond that, truly believe it's not my problem, and confidently invoke the Assertive Right of Disconnection. Much Better

Cut them out of your life---immediately and forever. Then you'll feel like George Washington when he stopped reading all newspapers: "I feel infinitely happier."

The water in the stream flows around the stone, it does not fight the stone.

So true.

That energy drain.

You should know

Go to a few "open mike" comedy places and stand up and get heckled, then approach the "difficult people" and use them for practice to perfect your heckler put-downs.

A blow to the temple always gets the desired effect....

Some choices are simply more productive than others. Another person's willingness to work with you is a key clue in knowing how much you'll gain from working with them.

It's easy to fall into the trap of trying to win the approval of a toxic person. You'll bang your head against a brick wall, jump through hoops, and drive yourself crazy trying to. It never works. All they want is a punching bag.

Try a Glock 40.

It is worth it if the difficult person is your mother, or child, or someone you actually want to be a part of your life