7 Things You Should Never Take Personally ...

Oh boy. Why do we get so steamed up about what people write on the internet? We get ourselves caught up in silly, meaningless arguments, working ourselves up because someone disagrees with us. Well, that's life. What does it matter if someone we'll never meet thinks we're wrong? They're entitled to their opinion, and they don't have to agree with us.

If you work in a role dealing with customers, you're going to have to deal with angry customers at some point. But remember if they yell at you, they're not angry with you personally; they're getting cross with the company you represent. Deal with their complaint calmly, and don't go home still fuming at how mean your customers were to you.

Perhaps this is a British thing, but I've seen people get really irate when someone pushes into a queue! Though people everywhere get annoyed if someone cuts in front of them in traffic or into a parking space. If it happens to you, let it go - it's not worth getting cross about. It's a minor annoyance, that's all. What does it matter if they get in front of you?

Being turned down for a job is really depressing and it's hard not to take it personally. But it's rarely because they didn't like you; it's far more likely that they had a number of good candidates (including you). Employers have to choose one candidate for a job, and if that wasn't you it doesn't mean that you weren't good enough.

When you've spent time cooking for your partner or family, you're going to feel cross if they don't like it. But it's not a personal comment on your cooking skills (unless you really are an awful cook!). Everyone has different tastes in food, and it just means that this particular dish didn't work for them.

When you're stuck in traffic, you usually get worried that you're going to be late, or annoyed at the time you're wasting. But try not to take it personally - the traffic jam hasn't built up just to make you late for work!

Have you ever thought that someone was giving you a funny look? You then imagine that they're criticising something about you. But they're probably not even looking at you, much less judging you. You're imagining what they're thinking; you have no idea what's really in their mind! They're probably looking at the advert behind you or thinking about their own problems.

So when you feel that something is personally directed at you, stop and consider whether it's nothing to do with you. You should realise that nobody's criticising you or trying to upset you. Are you really upset by criticism?