So I ran across an article detailing How to Deal With Impossible People.
The more I read it, the more I went, “wow, dude, I know how X is JUST LIKE THIS”. And then, of course, towards the end, I read this:
If you think you might be an impossible person yourself (or you have become one with regard to the other person), realize just how awful you are being and try to improve yourself. Then again, if you are really an impossible person, you won’t even recognize yourself here. To you, this page will be all about “the other guy.” For the incorrigible impossible person, everything is always about “the other guy.” If you’re reading this page and thinking “Hey, that sounds just like (insert name of person you blame for everything),” you’re probably one of the people we are talking about here (although you could never admit it).
Of course, I hadn’t thought of myself through the entire piece!
Who do you know that’s impossible? OK, OK, don’t name names. A lot of family, friends, and (gulp!) employers read this blog. But seriously, are there any strategies suggested on this page which you’ve already tried? Or maybe a few that you’d suggest for dealing with a particularly impossible person that aren’t mentioned?
My basic coping strategy throughout most of my life has been “agree with everything they say, then go do my own thing my way anyway”. Not the best approach, but it works 🙂