Don’t Meet Negativity With Negativity (Do This Instead)

You generate more negatives when you meet a negative with a negative (-them + -me = -negativity).

I was having a fueled business conversation with someone who was clearly in the wrong. As they became more negative to protect an idolized ego, I started to lay on my counterattack thick. Unfortunately, I let my emotions control my logic, so I became more negative.

What resulted was two emotional dummies with a worse negative outcome.

Don’t fuel negativity. Do this instead.

When you notice someone protecting their ego with negativity, separate yourself from the issue.

Debating someone who is emotionally charged won’t result in a positive outcome. Your counterarguments will piss them off even more. You need to separate yourself from the conversation to give them time to chill out mentally.

Say something like, “the goal of this conversation is to generate a positive outcome for X. Because we’re both emotionally attached to our positions, let’s take some time to think about each others opinions and discuss them more civilly tomorrow.”

You’ve labeled emotions as “attached,” not “angry.” You then positively acknowledge them by saying you’ll listen to what they have to say, whether…