Every person is for your growth, learning , and expansion. This can be hard to believe especially from a person who pushes your buttons and you feel like pulling your hair out.

It’s much easier to acknowledge the great and awesome qualities that our friends bring for us and reflect in us. Perhaps they are humorous, kind, compassionate, caring, successful, fun to be around, inspiring, loyal, etc. It can be difficult to recognize that we have these same positive virtues.

We enjoy being around them because it’s fun, light, and effortless. They are reflecting the feel good parts of ourselves whether we acknowledge them or not.

People, on the other hand who rub you the wrong way, or get under your skin, or test your patience, or seem to take advantage of you, or create a sense of anger, stress or frustration are not so easy to be around. Who wants to recognize, let alone handle, what they are presenting?

"Gaze into your depths and you shall see his face reflected on your still waters" Return of the Prophet

Whether these people are at home, work, or anywhere else, they tend to push your buttons.

You know… the buttons that seem not so nice, whether grumbling in your thoughts or in your actions and reactions. Maybe you give them the cold shoulder, the evil eye, ignore them completely, or say something under your breath, or directly to them.

Oh those buttons. Yes, those not so lovely qualities are showing you parts of yourself that you choose not to acknowledge. The problem is that if you continue not to see what they are reflecting in you, then these same emotions or reactions continue to show up somewhere else in your life, either in a different person or in a different way.

It’s quite simple to ignore them or not be around these people, unless they are in your immediate life. Then it’s not so easy, is it?

So what do you do? How do you handle them?

7 Insights to Dealing With Them:

1. Acknowledge what they are reflecting in you, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Once you begin to see what they are reflecting, you can see it’s an opportunity for you to grow, learn, and expand.

2. Recognize where else this same feeling is being generated in your life. Chances are it’s not just from this one person; it may be in other people or in situations that bring about the same type of emotions or reactions.

3. Let go of the need to change them, to be right and make them wrong, to control, to be heard, acknowledged, the should and shouldn’t, to fix them or change them, as well as the expectation of how things need to be, etc.

Whatever you are reacting to in them is an opportunity for you to transform in yourself.

4. Connect to your insights. If you take a few moments and connect with the source that your insights are emanating from, you will know what it is you could do or say, or perhaps it’s to do nothing at all in that moment.

5. Remember the bigger picture. We are all together in this beautiful, abundant Universe and everyone and everything is connected and for our learning , growth and expansion.

6. Choices are available to you. You can choose not to allow this person to ruffle your feathers, or you can let the feathers fly.

You can make choices and set boundaries that are best for you, or continue to feel stressed and frustrated.

You can try to change someone else, or you can change your reactions and actions.

7. Treat others the way you want to be treated. If you want others to consider your feelings, respect you, do things for you, be a certain way, be loyal, kind, caring, considerate, etc., there are two things to ponder:

* Can you still treat them the way you want to be treated, even when they don’t?* More importantly, do you treat yourself that way, even when they don’t?

Remember, friends and others are your reflections, so what qualities are you seeing?

Remember, when you Shine, the world shines brighter because of you!

Author's Bio: 

Kimberley Cohen is the Founder, Facilitator and Personal Insight Coach of The Insight Technique™. She is certified in Body Mind Counselling, Process Oriented Body Work and Spiritual Psychotherapy. She founded the Insight Technique™ - Your Insight to genuine Happiness, Purpose and Prosperity to assist herself and others in uncovering and discovering their brilliance. To question and understand your thinking so you can transform what blocks and limits you from living the life you desire and deserve. Or "living your dreams". http://www.theinsighttechnique.com