People. We are a strange bunch I tell you!

There are so many kinds of them. For this post, I am going to consider two categories: those who are secure of themselves and those who are insecure. The secure ones are happy. They know what they want from life and are not easily influenced by others. The insecure ones are a nightmare to be around. They might be extremely talented, but they get insecure when they meet someone who might be just 10% of what they are. They always feel threatened and need a constant source of approval from others. They aren’t confident about themselves.

Let me give you a very common scenario. There is a Manager, a Lead and a Team member. Let’s say that the lead is very talented and has a sense of insecurity. The team member happens to be good at something and gets an appreciation from the manager or someone even senior. What happens now? The lead gets annoyed and threatened. The leads starts imagining situations in which the lead will no longer be required. To vent the frustration, the lead brands the team member as someone with an ‘Attitude Problem’.

What could have ended with a simple compliment, is unnecessarily blown out of proportion and someone is targeted personally for something in the professional environment.

When people can’t handle someone, they either walk away from the person or try to put them down. The latter trend is far more widespread. Such people want to do good, and at the same time they want to ensure that they are (in comparison) better off than their peers. So what do we do in such a situation – Back down or Step ahead?

77531-never2bdim2byour2bsunshine

(This wonderful cake was given to me on my last day in a team. This was organized by my mentor, all the way from Delhi who got in touch with a few people in Chennai to get this done. This is the same person who sent the quote referred to in post. Am I not lucky to be blessed with such a wonderful mentor?)

When I was in one such similar situation, my mentor sent me this quote. She asked me not be bothered when others feel threatened. People always have something to say no matter what. That’s their problem. We have a life, we have a plan and we are set. Unless it affects someone obviously, there is no reason for us to back down or feel guilty and change our plans because a bunch of insecure and senseless Twits couldn’t find a better way to handle us.

Over time I realized that it’s just their defense mechanism. I came across this long back – Someone gets an award and one of his peers, burning with jealousy, remarks on a completely unrelated note – trying to divert the attention to some negative aspect of the person. This is the least such people can do and we don’t need to stoop down to their levels and respond. Another quote strikes my mind when I think of this situation, ‘You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.’

So next time you come across such people, just ask them to stay away from you if they can’t handle you. You know who you are and you know who they are, so just move on 🙂

Image Courtesy : Google