Ignore the chatter of the world

“The world is a powerful conditioner. It’s working on you all the time – negativity is normal, positivity is abnormal. To win, you must train to beat that external conditioning, to overcome the brainwashing exerted by a powerful world of negative influence.”
James Loehr and Peter McLaughlin: Mentally Tough: The Principles of Winning at Sports Applied to Winning in Business

In one presentation on values I had someone ask about dealing with the negative people who seemed to take great pleasure in inflicting their misery upon the people around them (remember, when you break the word commiserate down you get co-miserate, be miserable together). I suggested several tactful and diplomatic approaches, but she kept insisting that the kid-gloves approach had never worked and would not work – an opinion that was shared by most everyone else in the room. Finally, and at a loss for further nice-guy options, I suggested that when this happened she simply shake her head and silently say two words to herself. Then I wrote this on the whiteboard:

F_____ ’Em!

“You decide for yourself what the F stands for,” I said.

Someone else in the audience shouted out “Flush ‘Em!”

Everyone thought this was outstanding advice.