More likely than not, there is at least one toxic individual in your life whom you're forced to deal with in order to sustain a job or relationship.  Maybe it's your overbearing boss, meddling father-in-law, or a friend's implacable spouse. As I've noted in earlier posts, you're always at liberty to terminate said job or relationship if you find it becomes intolerable, threatening your health and well-being.  Before taking such a drastic step, though, there's always the option to sit down with the person (and maybe you want a co-worker, your partner, or friend there as a buffer) to try to ameliorate the situation.  But let's assume for the sake of argument that you want to do your best to play nice and not rock the boat too much.  Perhaps you've only just begun that job, or you recognize employers in your industry just aren't hiring at the moment. Or you may care so deeply about your partner or friend that you're willing to put up with that pest ...

There are many givens in life, not the least of which is the fact that people will disappoint you . It can happen when least expected, and the ones who let you down are often the last people you'd expect to do so -- like friends, family, and close co-workers. This is no reason, however, to sulk, walk with your head down. and give in to cynicism. Life is isn't so much about what happens to you, but how you react to what happens to you. Experience teaches us how to cope with disappointment so that the next time we find ourselves in a similar situation -- whether we're dealing with the same person or someone else -- we won't be so quick to make the same mistakes. No one likes to get hurt, but it's just a part of life. People are mostly out to benefit themselves -- to say otherwise is to be untruthful. There's a reason why most of us have only a few select friends. I, myself, have just three really close ones, all of whom were groomsmen at my wedding. Bu...

For those of us who have full-time jobs, we spend 40 or more hours per week around co-workers. That doesn't include the amount of time spent around babysitters, mailmen, cashiers, waiters, bus drivers, and anyone else we come into contact with on a weekly basis. While some of the individuals we interact with are certainly friendly, good people, there are others who flat-out drive us up the wall. As I've mentioned previously on the blog, I'm an introvert. No, that doesn't mean I'm shy. It means that I become drained when around people for too long. I need ample time alone in order to recharge. That's why I often eat lunch by myself and make it a priority to "disconnect" from co-workers by taking a couple of short breaks each day. I can only take so much chit chat on a daily basis. Oftentimes, I come home drained and crave nothing more than to unwind in my room -- in complete silence. Am I a complete recluse or misanthrope? Absolutely not. I unders...