Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Redefine Your Point of View
• Part 2 of 3: Be Smart in a Single Situation
• Part 3 of 3: Keep Them Close
• Tips
• Warnings

You see them in the store, standing in line in front of you. Maybe you pass them by at work, at school, or, even worse, meet these people among close relatives! They are ... Stupid people. And, unfortunately, they are everywhere. But that doesn't mean you have to spend hours frustrated with their absolute inability to act like rational people and just understand what's going on. You cannot constantly ignore them, but you can find an effective, non-destructive way to deal with them. So how do you do this? Just read on.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Redefine Your Point of View

1. 1 Lower your standards. It is difficult, but extremely important. In part, your constant grief at the stupidity of the whole world is due to the fact that you expect others to be as intellectually advanced as you, your close friends, and the people you respect the most. As the saying goes, if a person lives, then it is necessary - and this applies to stupid people too! Remind yourself that the “average” person will not meet your high standards of how people should think and act, so lower your expectations accordingly.
   • If you don't expect a person to be smart and polite, you will have pleasant surprises when people turn out to be so - instead of constantly being disappointed in their expectations.
2. 2 Understand that they may not have had the same favorable conditions or advantages that you did. One of the reasons that you are oh-god-some-smart may be because you came out of a family that loves you, received / are getting a good education, you did not have to look after family members, work in the evenings while studying in high school and take responsibility that would prevent you from becoming Mr. I Know Everything. The next time a stupid person starts to annoy you, ask yourself if he had all the opportunities that you had - the chances are high that the answer will be no.
   • Remind yourself to accept each person for who they are - this will reduce the degree of your irritation and upset, because you will stop constantly asking yourself why the person is doing something completely different, you do.
3. 3 Understand the fact that you cannot change their mindset. This is another important point that you need to learn before dealing with stupid people. You may decide that causal relationships and rational facts always win, and that after you hit it off with a double dose of logic, the stupid person leaves you with the thought, "Wow, never thought about it that way ...". Well, unlikely; if the person is stupid, he / she will remain unconvinced.
   • Realizing the fact that even with very fair reasons, you cannot convince a stupid person to accept your point of view, you just calm down and stop trying. And when you stop trying to convince the fools around you to agree with you, the irritation and disappointment in your life will diminish.
   • Remember, your goal is not to get stupid people to agree with you, but to learn how to deal with them in a way that keeps you calm and sane in dealing with him or her.
4. 4 Don't judge a fish by its tree climbing ability. As Albert Einstein once said, “Everyone is a genius in their own way. But if you judge a fish by its tree-climbing ability, you will live your whole life convinced that it is stupid. " This means that you need to look at the situation in the following way: although a stupid person does not know 2-3 areas in which you are an expert, by and large he is not stupid. A girl in math class who can't add can be a terrific poet; the person who can't make your latte the right way is probably a killer musician. Stop thinking that there is only one criterion of intelligence or stupidity - you will see that people are capable of more than you think.
   • Think about this: if people can be smart or stupid in only one respect, then there are those who think that YOU are not too smart. And that could be true, couldn't it?
5. 5 Try to see the situation from a different perspective. Another way to change your attitude towards stupid people is to think about the situation from a different perspective. Of course, you believe that there is only one correct view of the political situation in the country, or that you cannot be wrong by becoming a vegetarian. However, before you establish your position, you should definitely get a reasonable understanding of the arguments from the opposite side and try to see that the situation has a different story.
   • In addition, in order to better understand a person, it is useful to know where he comes from and where he was brought up - if a person grew up on the outskirts of Novosibirsk, and you spent your childhood within the Moscow Ring Road, then yes, you simply do not understand all the problems that a person faced ...
6. 6 Arm yourself with knowledge. Knowledge is power. Especially when you are trying to deal with a person who does not have them at all.If you want to deal with fools to the best of your ability, then you must have concrete facts. Read as much as you can, listen to informative helpful podcasts, watch and read the news - be sure to have a solid understanding of the issue before you get into an argument. The more facts, statistics and theses you have, the easier it will be for you to silence the fool.
   • While your goal doesn't have to be to convince a stupid person that you are right (what difference does it make, after all?), The more he sees that you have studied the issue well, the less he will have the desire to argue with you.

Part 2 of 3: Be Smart in a Single Situation

1. 1 Avoid controversial topics. If you want to reason with a stupid person at the moment, then you need to avoid anything that can upset, anger, or inflame a passionate desire to prove you wrong. If you know that your interlocutor is rather stupid, and his opinions are almost always rather stupid, why talk to him about something serious (which can mean a lot to you). Stick to light, playful communication if you have to constantly meet with this person, and avoid particularly controversial topics.
   • Even if you know that this person has an incredibly stupid point of view on a controversial issue, and you want to "push him to the wall" - overcome the temptation. It is not worth it - neither your strength, nor your blood pressure that has been raised beyond measure.
2. 2 Kill with kindness. If the person is behaving phenomenally stupid, it is likely that being nice to them is the last thought that comes to your mind. That is why you should be as nice to him as possible. By doing so, you will disarm and probably confuse your opponent, leaving him no choice but to also respond with courtesy and stop being such an impassable dumbass. Being rude, condescending, or even nasty will encourage the person to continue acting as stupid as possible. Grit your teeth and behave kindly, no matter what - a stupid person will soon begin to annoy you much less.
   • Remember, being kind and polite is much easier than being mean and nasty. Being bad is bad for your mood and stress levels; You will do a huge favor to your psychological well-being by behaving as nicely as possible.
3. 3 Stay away from political debate. It's about avoiding controversial topics. If a fool begins to speak out on a controversial issue and share his definitely stupid point of view on the problem, you must resist the urge to get involved in the argument and prove to the person that he is wrong. Be polite and say something like "You are entitled to your opinion" or "Very interesting" without showing that you absolutely disagree. Then change the subject or apologize and leave.
   • There is absolutely no reason to debate with a fool, even if you think it will bring you temporary relief.
4. 4 Watch your emotions. Fools are great masters of upsetting and angering others. But from now on, you will not allow any stupid person to do this to you - there is simply absolutely no reason for this. If you want to be the leader in the conversation, you need to stay calm; keeping emotions in check is really smart. You don't want to be like fools, losing control over your feelings, just like them.
   • Be patient. It may take longer for a stupid person to figure out what's going on. Don't get angry or upset right away - give the person a chance.
   • If you feel that you are starting to get upset about what a fool is saying, just repeat to yourself: this is a stupid person, this is a stupid person, this is a stupid person... Do this as many times as necessary to realize that there is no reason to worry too much about what the person is saying.
   • If you feel yourself starting to get angry, try counting backwards from 50 to 1, you can count in and out, or take a walk - do whatever it takes to regain your composure before you have to date that person again - if you are in principle it is necessary.
   • Don't let the fool get the pleasure of knowing that he / she has so much power over you. If this fool sees that he can influence you so strongly, he will think he is smarter.
5. 5 Ask them to clarify their point of view with facts. If the fool really hurts you, you can silence him by asking him to back up his opinion with facts. Most likely, this person will give you a lot of stupid ideas that will not confirm his position in any way. Such a request most often knocks fools off their chosen trajectory and prevents the escalation of conflict. Here are some polite phrases you can use to silence someone:
   • "Wow, seriously? Where did you read that?"
   • "Do you get your ideas from the latest News of the Week? Because if so, it said just the opposite ..."
   • "Very interesting! What percentage of people actually love this?"
   • “It's so nice that you have such a strong position in relation to the Far East. How long have you spent there?
6. 6 Ignore them if there is no better way out. While ignoring people is pretty rude and immature, sometimes it's the best solution. If you are in a group, for example, and you don't want to stop communicating with it because of some fool, you can act as if that person is not there, or simply not respond to his comments. The chances are that if their words are really that stupid, someone in the group will take over your initiative or, even better, others will start ignoring them too.
   • If a person comes to you with a stupid comment, just smile and act as if he said something nice, instead of getting into a confrontation with him.
   • While ignoring a fool is not a very elegant way, it is still a great way to shield yourself from communicating with these people.
7. 7 When you have the opportunity, just walk away. Turning around and walking away is a fantastic way to handle any situation. Of course, you can't just walk away from a stupid boss unless you're willing to risk your job; however, you can walk away from the abnormal who yells at you in the store, or leave a situation in which another fool is just trying to piss you off. Walking away is a great way to put your feelings in order if you suddenly begin to realize that you are getting more and more angry.
   • If a fool is caught more or less reasonable, just say: "Excuse me, I have to go"; leave without explanation if you understand that your explanations with this person are inappropriate.

Part 3 of 3: Keep Them Close

1. 1 Don't take what is happening to heart. It can be incredibly difficult not to take the nonsense you say personally - especially if it was said to hurt you. However, if you want to deal with the fool in the best possible way, you should not let him get close to you (emotionally) and teach him that whatever he says will come back to him. If you let the fool's words pass through your personality and allow him to hurt you, you are giving him power that he should not have. Just remind yourself that this person is stupid and that his opinion should not matter to you.
   • Your self-respect shouldn't depend on someone whose intellectual ability you don't even respect.Just remember this thought the next time stupid people try to make you feel small, incompetent, or helpless.
2. 2 Find out their strengths (if any). Trying to look at the situation positively and give the person the benefit of the doubt is another great tactic to keep the person from getting close to you. Of course, your boss is not very good at dealing with people, but think about how much good he has done for the company. Your cousin may be a chatterbox when it comes to keeping your secrets, but he is an indispensable person when you need to support you after a hard day.
   • Remind yourself that most goofy people are not bad at everything, and they have some good qualities. This is a great thought to keep in mind when you want to stay sane when dealing with stupid people, especially if you have to deal with them often, for example, at school or at work.
3. 3 Don't complain about them to other people. Of course, your colleagues or acquaintances may say something just incredibly stupid - so stupid that you will want to tell a dozen of your closest friends about it. You might even want to send bulk email, sms, or social media - tell all in detail what kind of fool you are dealing with. But what will it give you? Of course, people will agree with you that this person is stupid, but ultimately you will be even more angry, furious, dissatisfied, and annoyed.
   • And worst of all, all of this can give the fool even more power - if you really believe that the person is stupid, will you be tormented for so long because of the words they said, right?
   • If the person really upsets you, you can discuss it with a close friend, but don't let it become an obsession and ruin your day.
4. 4 Be as respectful of this person as possible. In the face of impenetrable stupidity, this may seem completely impossible, but this is why you should behave as respectfully as possible with phenomenal fools. Treat this person like the Queen of Great Britain or the CEO of your company. By treating a fool as a person worthy of respect, you are acting extremely noble and, moreover, you inspire him to behave more worthy in the future.
   • Resist your impulses. Of course, you've already come up with the perfect vengeance or witty remark, but before you say it out loud, remind yourself that this is not going to get you anywhere.
5. 5 Be grateful to all the smart people in your life (including you). By dealing with fools on a regular basis, you will begin to feel more gratitude towards all the balanced, rational, and intelligent people you know. If you are constantly upset about stupid people, then know that all this is happening because of your very smart company of friends or family members, and due to too high standards in matters of intellectual development of the people around you.
   • Instead of getting upset about the fool in front of you, remind yourself of how lucky you are to have so many smart loved ones, best friends, a mom, a group of friends, or coworkers. It will make you feel grateful to the positive people in your life, rather than letting stupid people take over.

Tips

• Always stay calm.
• Isolate yourself from the person if necessary.
• Don't get too carried away with the conversation; speak occasionally so that your close-minded interlocutor understands what it is about.

Warnings

• Do not threaten them with phrases like "I'm ready to kill you." If they are young, they may not understand that you are just joking - get very upset, tell their parents and call the police!
• Don't be angry.They may simply not be able to change their behavior if they simply do not understand what they are doing right and what is not.