Finding Appreciation in all Personalities

In a work setting, without a balance of all types of personalities, genders, backgrounds, etc., the business will often fall short of where it could have potentially ended up. The obvious issues will be addressed for that specific group of people involved in the decision making process, while there will be oversights on items that seem obvious for groups of people who aren't in that decision making process. I believe that same principal exists in our own personal lives as well.

Anybody who interacts with people, even minimally, knows that there are certain personalities that they get along and don't get along with. It can be draining interacting with them. Going along with one of the primary themes of this website, it is important to remember how we react and what internal thoughts we allow ourselves to have strongly determine how we will feel after talking to those personalities that we maybe don't appreciate so much.

I'm mostly writing this for myself, as it is something I've struggled with a lot in my life. When I hop on a work call that I know will last 50% longer than it should, I find bad thoughts creeping into my mind, even before the call has even happened. In the (translated) words of the Roman philosopher, Lucius Annaeas Seneca, "We suffer more in imagination than reality." Lucius nailed that.

I, and most everybody I know, struggles with this daily. I know so many people who often talk themselves into a bad mood before anything bad has ever even happened. I also think that as we have become more and more isolated through technology (we are more connected than ever, but we are also more isolated than ever), this issue has become more and more prominent. It is a dangerous cycle that needs to be addressed and combated.

So how do we find joy in those who grate us with everything they do? I think that some of it is taking ourselves a bit less seriously. Instead of thinking, "I could be doing X right now instead of dealing with this waste of time," I think we could do a better job of living in the moment and trying to find joy - not constantly thinking about the "what ifs."

Personally, I'm very cautious with making statements. I like having enough info to where I feel comfortable with what I'm saying, so when I'm with somebody who has pure confidence regardless if they actually know anything about the subject or not, I am bothered to my core. One of the few things that has helped me is that when I'm in one of those situations, I find myself stepping out of my own skin and trying to appreciate that behavior that I consider absolutely insane. I may disagree with them, but without ideas and discussions from those people of all walks of life and personalities, I would miss out on something that could build me up or help me understand myself better.

(It shouldn't NEED to be said, but obviously racism/hate speech isn't included in my definition of differing views/personalities.)