People will criticize you regardless of how successful you are. They will try to put you down, undermine your achievements, and make you doubt your self-worth just to bring you down to their levels. This is almost inevitable. What truly matters is how you react to their disrespectful behavior.
Would you prove them wrong by remaining calm and staying true to yourself, or would you backfire with the same low attitude?
If you consider yourself a levelheaded person who is above all that negativity,
Here are 9 ways to respond to disrespect with intelligence:
1. Don’t take it personally.
Someone once said: “If they don’t know you personally, don’t take it personally.” In other words, if someone disregards your feelings without having the slightest idea of what you are going through, don’t bother getting upset.
2. Try to see things from the other person’s point.
Put yourself in that person’s shoes and try to understand what triggers their negative reaction. This will help you see the situation from another perspective. What’s more, it will give you valuable insight when it comes to your relationship with that individual.
3. Don’t snap the second someone steps on your toes.
You will rarely see an intelligent person lash out at someone for disrespecting them. Instead, they seek closure. Arguing with people who dare to cross their boundaries is beneath them. If someone doesn’t bother to listen to what they have to say, they simply walk away.
4. Do something to lower the tension.
When the tension in the room is so thick you can cut it with a knife, smart people usually come up with a way to deescalate the situation. Cracking a joke to lighten the mood is a good way to do so. However, you should know when using humor is appropriate and when remaining silent is the better option.
5. Don’t hold grudges.
There is probably not a single time in history when holding grudges has resulted in something favorable. So, stop holding grudges. When someone fails to recognize your worth, remember that we are only human, and making mistakes is unavoidable. And if their opinion truly matters, make an effort to show them who you are, but let it come from a good place.
6. Agree to disagree.
This is a healthy thing to do when you don’t see how you and the other person can reach a sensible compromise. Besides, it allows room for growth, and it gives you time to reconsider your statements and come back to the subject with a clearer mind.
7. Don’t give them a taste of their own medicine.
Seriously, don’t be disrespectful to someone only because they are disrespectful to you. If anything, this shows a serious lack of intelligence. Instead of being rude, be kind. This will confuse the other person and will make them feel uncomfortable for being so hard on you for no apparent reason.
8. Cut them off.
There are situations that require taking drastic measures. If someone has been treating you indecently for far too long, don’t hesitate to cut them off of your life. Any reasonable person will do so because it takes intelligence to know when someone is making a mistake and when they are just showing their true toxic nature.
9. When nothing else works, walk away.
Having the ability to sense the moment when you should walk away is vital. Sometimes there is nothing else you could do. So, instead of tolerating being treated horribly, come to your senses and leave.
