How to Not Take Things So Personally: 6 Helpful Habits

“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”Mahatma Gandhi“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.

You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.”Eleanor RooseveltA very common problem that can drag your self-esteem down or build up so much anger that steam may start to come out of your ears is to take things too personally.And so you may try to grow some thicker skin and let criticism, negativity or verbal attacks just wash off of you.But that’s often easier said than done.So in this week’s article I’d like to share 6 habits that really work for me – at least in most cases – and helps me to reduce the stress, anger and hurt in my life.I hope they’ll be useful for you too.Just focus on your breathing for a minute or two (or for a few breaths if that’s all the time you got).Focus only on the air going in and out of your nose.

Nothing else.This simple exercise helps you to calm your mind and body down a bit.It helps you to create a bit of space between you and what has just happened and by doing so you’re less likely to have a knee-jerk reaction and to, for example, lash out verbally at the other person.Going about things this way makes it easier to respond to the situation in the way you may deep down want to.Don’t jump to conclusions based on what you may have just misunderstood and let that drag you down into anger or to feeling sorry for yourself.Instead, ask questions if possible to help clarify a bit about what the other person meant.And, if you can, explain how what he said makes you feel.

We have different perspectives and ways of communicating and he might not, for instance, realize that it came across as a bit harsh or rude.It’s very easy to fall into the trap of.