Almost all the time, almost everyone is fine. They really are. People might be a bit annoying, and you have to think before you respond, but basically people are fine. I'm sure I'm a bit annoying and people have to think before they respond to me. But it's very rare for real boundaries to need to be set.
When I have the perception that other people are behaving badly in general, this means that one of three things is happening:
- I'm not perceiving things right (they're behaving OK)
- I'm being touchy and difficult myself (demands, expectations, taking things personally)
- They really are behaving badly but I'm eliciting it.
"If you meet a difficult person, you've met a difficult person. If you meet several difficult people, you're the difficult person."