When People Are Mean, It's Not About You.
At my last job, everyone thought our maintenance guy was horrible. He was consistently the gruffest, crankiest person I’ve ever met. He was also one of my favorite people. I know a secret a lot of people don’t know about grouches; they can be the kindest, most loyal people around. I also understand that their meanness isn’t about me. Most people aren’t cranky as a personal choice. We assume that they don’t care how their behavior affects someone, but that couldn’t be further