I promise I won't turn this blog into a self-help center but I will offer the following advice. The desire to extend it does not stem from any recent incident or revelation, just my general accumulation of experience and observation.

Do not take negative insults or attitudes personally, but those that are positive that can be construed as personal, take them that way. Some philosophers would have a field day with this piece of advice, a glaring case of logical inconsistency. Of course this approach is inconsistent, but what good is logical consistency if it doesn't make you any happier or content with your life? Furthermore, I think there is an element of truth in it anyway. For one, life and people are inconsistent, and it would almost seem that being consistently inconsistent is an appropriate corollary. For another, few people want to intentionlly harm others, directly or indirectly. Those that do are called pyschopaths; they lack the ability to empathize, and their numbers are few. So I would say that 99% of the time people get hurt by an individual it is because that individual is struggling with an issue more purely within themselves and is manifesting the struggle, and people get in the way. By no means do I condone the unintentional hurting of others, but it occurs, and I believe that the best way to cope is to not take it personally. Seriously, try it. It works.

Of course, take positive things personally - there is no downside to that. The whole point is to take the best parts of something and discard the bad. Now, is it too much to ask to carry this attitude elsewhere...like religion????