I am Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits.

When building a profitable practice, some people will overstep the boundaries you’ve created for yourself and your practice. If you live your life to make other people happy, you’re going to be miserable. That’s because it’s impossible to make everyone you encounter happy. You might have a good run-and-go a week or two, generating nothing but smiles on the faces of the people you run into. But eventually, you’re going to make someone angry. It’s just going to happen. You’ll do something or say something inappropriate or at the wrong time. There will no doubt be someone there when you make this mistake, as there always is, and they’ll get upset. Much of the time though, the problem is with the other person, not with something you did or said.

There are people out there who are just looking for any excuse to be negative. You might have accidentally said or done something that set them off. But for certain people, they don’t need an excuse. They’ll tell you that you offended them in some way. They will keep badgering you in the hope that you will give in and agree with them, just to quiet them down.

Difficult people like this also love stepping all over your boundaries. When you let them know that they’re acting in a way that’s inappropriate according to your values, they only get louder. Instead of letting them cross any borders you’ve set, remember this:

“You can please some of the people all of the time. You can please all of the people some of the time. But you can’t please all of the people all the time.” —President Abraham Lincoln

Truer words were never spoken. Sometimes people are just looking for attention. If you don’t get involved in their life, they’ll raise a fuss. They’ll find out something that bothers you, some boundary or border that you hold dear. Then they’ll get to work stomping all over that border. When someone has been difficult, and they refuse to obey any boundaries you’ve put up, don’t react right away. That’s what they want. Remove yourself from the situation. Calm down and take a few deep breaths. You might be emotionally on the verge of losing your mind. But don’t let that happen.

Do whatever you need to regain control of your emotions, then contact the individual if it’s necessary. If you remove yourself from the proximity of a total stranger, you don’t need to worry about the situation anymore. If it was a friend or loved one that was being difficult, then reach out. Be very direct and specific. Communicate that you value them as an important person in your life. Then let them know what bothered you. Tell them this is an important boundary for you and that you’re not backtracking or allowing the situation to be repeated in the future.

The people who love and care about you will respect what you have to say, and respect your boundaries. If they don’t, perhaps that’s an individual you don’t need to be spending as much time with.

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There will be times when you offend those you interact with. This honest mistake can teach you a valuable lesson. Read about it on our blog post here.

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I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits. Please go to businessofrehab.com/guide to pick up the free guide to help you determine the best business entity for your new practice.

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Attention, Physiatrists! Stop leaving money on the table. Sign up for the free video series: How To Build A Profitable Practice in 90 Days or Less: http://www.sixtytosuccess.com