I’ve been going through Ask a Manager’s archives, and I came across this charming tidbit regarding how to put up with people who seem unbearable:
“My sister always advises me, when visiting annoying relatives, to pretend to be one of the many long-suffering characters in Jane Austen novels who have to be pleasant to and patient with irritating relations. It’s remarkably effective; it reframes things in a much more amusing (and bearable) context.”
I emailed that quote to my mom, because she tends to share Sartre’s condemnation: “Hell is other people.” Mom responded:
“Yes! I often think about how much time those characters had to spend listening to boring people prosing on and on about something completely uninteresting for the thousandth time. And they had to pretend to be interested and keep a pleasant look on their faces.”
After a minute she sent another email and quipped, “How lucky we are to be alive today, when no one is surprised if you’re rude.” If only!
I try to cope with irritation graciously but it is very difficult.