The ability to gracefully ignore someone!
Is it possible?
Me oh my, let's recall those situations where we absolutely can't tolerate the presence of someone! Whether that intolerance is a result of their past actions, annoying comments or their sheer selfishness, we can't just make them disappear, unless you know someone in the mob, hahaha! But seriously, those irritating people are a way of life these days. So the question is, how do we handle them? Do you let get them get the best of us, do we act rude in return, do we spread gossip, or do we get even? No to all of the above.
You develop what we call AGI. What is AGI, the Art of Gracefully Ignoring, and it works wonders. We human are always curious by nature, right? So let us give an example of how AGI works. Two friends had been friends for many years until one friend found out that the other has been spreading nasty untrue rumors about her. So the friend confronts the other about the rumors, unfortunately it does not solve anything.
That's where AGI fits in perfectly. Those women still share mutual friends and have to be around each often. Rather than acting like you are in high school and trying to get every other friend on your side, take the high road! Ignore her gracefully, be civil and cordial but you don't have to go out of your way to be warm and inviting, after all you tried to resolve her mistakes and she refused to budge. The great thing about AGI is that you can do no wrong. Have you ever heard an adult say, "she's ignoring me,"and goes to pout in the corner. Are adults regressing back into childhood?
What people now need to realize is that you cannot treat people unkindly and expect no consequences. AGI is the perfect solution to those unruly and uncharitable people!
The Art of Gracefully Ignorance is something Coco Chanel definitely had in her repertoire of talents, as does every successful women that experiences jealousy while climbing to the top.
A few successful women who probably experienced some level of jealous. How did they handle it?
~ Coco Chanel ~
"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself." ~Chanel
~ Duchess of Cambridge ~
"The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves" ~William Penn
~ Julia Child ~
"A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity." ~Robert A. Heinlein
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~ Reese Witherspoon ~
"The venom clamors of a jealous woman poison more deadly than a mad dog's tooth." ~Shakespeare
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~ Heather Thomson of www.yummielife.com ~
"To cure jealousy is to see it for what it is, a dissatisfaction with self." ~Joan Didion
Interesting post. I have had some experience with toxic and hurtful women/friendships, and for me, ignoring them only seemed to bottle up/increase the tension. In my case, what truly helped me move beyond and take "the high road" was first recognizing that they were acting out of their own brokenness. When I felt true compassion for them, I was able to pray for them and then- this was the really hard part, but the part that made the difference- I deliberately tried (and still try!) to go out of my way to do acts of kindness for them, to compliment any genuine good pointa (if they have one!) and speak kindly to them. (I am also not able to avoid them either due to circumstance) Taking that extra step to actually love my "enemy" by putting my money where my mouth was is what healed me from the wounds of those friendships and to feel free from their pettiness and mean-spiritedness. That's just my own personal experience but I thought I'd share because I never thought I could feel peace having to keep seeing these women on an ongoing basis and now I really do! :) I like the quotes you added!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the opinion, Anonymous! That is great insight! There are so many different ways to handle these situations/relationships and it seems that there are "steps" or "levels" for dealing with such circumstance.
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