Taking things personally is a typical poor habit that can make our lives more challenging. When we see something as an assault, we can get defensive right away, jeopardizing our relationships and reputation. It also makes us feel a lot of negativity that could have been avoided, raising our stress levels on a daily basis. Here are some suggestions for breaking this terrible habit.
Know who you are.
Perhaps the most difficult step is the first. Learn to genuinely understand yourself and pinpoint the characteristics that you believe are true to who you are. You are much less likely to be disturbed by what others say or how they choose to attack you if you know who you are and how much you are worth.
Allowing yourself to believe in who you are and to support yourself regardless of what happens will help you stay strong and avoid taking things too personally.
Don't overthink things.
One of the major drawbacks of this practice is that we tend to overthink things. When we overthink things, we create mountains out of molehills in our thoughts and then feel horrible about something that never happened.
Consider the following scenario: someone compliments another person's clothing. If you have a tendency to overthink things, you may turn it into a problem in your mind - why didn't they complement me? They have to despise me. They must think I'm a slob. However, this is not the case. It's critical to get greater control over our thoughts and to stop judging ourselves so harshly that we imagine others are doing the same. We should avoid making a comment about ourselves by focusing on it.
Take feedback on your work, not on yourself.
Criticism and feedback can be a source of annoyance. However, we must accept that this criticism indicates that there are aspects of our work that need to be improved, and that our work is not us.
Feedback only indicates that we need to make improvements to our work; it does not necessarily reflect who we are, what we are capable of, or other such factors. We must distinguish between criticism of what we did and criticism of who we are, and respond as positively as possible.
Don't take things at face value.
We become offended about what others say about us or infer about us because we assume it is true. Accepting that others can make mistakes is a simple way to let go of this unwanted experience.
The view that matters the most about ourselves is our own, therefore we don't have to take it seriously if someone is severe in their assessment of who we are. We can simply allow that opinion to exist - it doesn't mean we have to start feeling humiliated or change our entire selves right now. We can simply think about it and dismiss it.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
It's simple to take something personally and then keep repeating the same excuse for a person's remarks. This does not, however, imply that it is the correct explanation.
Instead, we should strive to think of different options. What else might this individual have been implying? What if we just take their word for it? What if it wasn't even about us? This will help us comprehend that just when it appears as though someone has assaulted us, it does not necessarily mean that this is the case.
Distract yourself from your work.
It can be difficult to quit thinking about what we believe to be a personal attack at times. We tend to think the same things over and over, which might make the problem appear larger than it is. If you find yourself on this train of thought, find a means to divert your attention.
Do something exciting and entertaining, do art or create something, or do something that engages both your hands and your thoughts. Tell yourself to stop thinking this way, that it isn't productive, and that you can let it go. It becomes simpler to see the situation for what it is and stop taking things personally when you let go of negative thoughts that repeat themselves.