“There are no annoying people,” someone said in a meeting. “If I feel annoyed, I’m experiencing a symptom of my judgment of others.” How can this possibly be true at work, where annoying people seem to congregate? The guy who narrates his work out loud—is he not objectively annoying? Or what about that hyper-competitive co-worker who constantly bemoans how terrible her work is to extract reassurance from others, thereby shifting the focus to herself (i.e., the thing that I do all the time)?

But when I examine these thoughts and feelings, I do see the tinge of self-righteousness in judging my co-workers’ weird habits. So today I choose to create some distance between myself and these thoughts. I will look for an opportunity to be kind. “Bless them, change me” could be an appropriate prayer.

I will also remember that sometimes, “if you spot it, you’ve got it.”