The Jerk Challenge

My hope is that you have found a little bit of help so far, as it pertains to coping with the various jerks that will cross your path from time to time. If you take nothing else from this series of blog posts, please take away these two things: 1) A jerk's job is to be a jerk. That is not our job to change. Jerks will be jerks. 2) Our job is to ensure the jerk's energy doesn't transfer onto us, causing us to join the jerk's team. Your job is to remain the amazing person you are and either distance yourself or continue pouring out love and positive energy until your energy takes over the jerk and brings them back to the winning team. Make sense? Now, on to today's post. Today, we are talking about the hypocrite. This is the type of jerk that loves calling everyone else out while they are either currently involved in the same practices or were very recently involved in those practices. The hypocrite will say things like, "He ought to be as...

Did your eyes already roll just thinking about the jealous people you have had to deal with over the years? The jealous person is never happy for you and will often try to "one up" you when it comes to your success. The jealous person can often be caught making ugly faces when they think you are not looking. This person will also make comments such as "well, I am glad you got that promotion but I didn't apply, so....." or "your new phone is nice. Is it a knock off version? " or  "Congratulations on your engagement...for the second time." How do you cope with the jealous person? I am so glad you asked: First, remember is not your job to "fix" the jealous jerk or figure out why they behave the way they do. Second, be the bigger person, regardless of their behavior. If this is someone you must be around consistently, compliment them on their successes. Give them praise for a job well done and acknowledge their natur...

Everyone knows this person. This is the person that will suck all of the happiness out of the room. This person is almost never happy for anyone and will find something negative to say in any happy situation. You could be excited about a new business, new relationship, or maybe you came into some money you were not expecting. The buzzkiller will take that as their queue to say negative things such as quoting negative stats about businesses and relationships or say things like “with more money comes more problems.” Ugh...right?! It can be especially tough to cope with the buzzkiller when you have to be around them a lot. If you do not have to be around them, then there lies the easy answer. Distance yourself. Remember, jerks are jerks and they exist to challenge you. The buzzkiller's job is to do just that....kill your buzz. Your job is NOT to fix this person. Your job is to show love in spite of this person’s behavior. Never let a jerk's behavior turn you into one of ...

I know the title of this blog will throw some of you off. However, I hope you can see past the title to get to the heart of its' purpose. The Jerk Challenge is about sharing how to cope with the various jerks in your life. For the purpose of this blog, the definition of a jerk is "anyone whose behavior drains you of your natural inclination to be positive, be focused, be successful, and be happy." This has absolutely nothing to do with gender, race, religion, etc. It has everything to do with people who wake up angry and decide they are going to spread their misery. You know the kind of person I am talking about. The type of person that only feels better by making others feel like less than the person they truly are. How do you cope with these types of people? Especially, if these people are those you have to be around because they are family, co-workers, in your volunteer groups, etc. The fact we first have to acknowledge is that jerks are jerks and they exist ...