Periodically, we will be doling out little nuggets of advice. You’re welcome. These are things for you, the reader, to take to heart and put into practice in your daily life in order to improve your world. We call this series, Word to the Wise (WTTW).
Word to the Wise: If someone comes at you looking for a (verbal) fight, an irrational act nearly every time, you should probably diffuse the situation. However, you should not attempt to confront an irrational person with logic or reasoning. Instead, I advocate keeping a pair of boxing gloves-yes, real life boxing gloves-in your desk at all times. When the aforementioned crazyperson comes in looking for a (verbal) fight, just reach in your drawer, put on your boxing gloves, and say “If it’s a fight you want, I’m going to need a minute to get taped up.” In other words, offer to escalate the conflict to it’s extreme. This will invariably point out the craziness of the offender’s actions and therein diffuse the situation, returning everyone to a nice, rational, state of being.
Note: Should the offender be threatening actual fisticuffs and not simply a (verbal) fight, then all of the above is null and void. In such an event, we would suggest this.
