Use Your Most Annoying Critics As an Opportunity to Practice Keeping Your Cool
When some annoying moron pounces on your case, it’s best to ignore him. However, if you could practice to keep your cool, then they might give him a chance.
As marketer Will Reynolds explains on Medium, he received a threatening letter from a stranger with absurd demands. Rather than reacting with the anger we all feel in a situation like this, he used it as an opportunity to practice responding professionally. Not only did this cause the other person to back down, it was a great practice to keep cool under pressure:
I could call this person and try to stay calm all the time, never raising my voice. It was a RARE opportunity for me to learn to be 100% calm with someone who was angry with me instead of giving it to them. I haven’t had to endure such insults since I worked as a waiter in college.
Of course, there are always times when it is a bad idea to contact indignant critics altogether, but in most cases you can answer professionally rather than completely ignore it. However, if you could use this practice, it would be a comfortable perspective that turns a trashy situation into a profitable one.
How I train resistance to unknown challenges ahead. | Middle