It is a sad but true fact that most people are stuck in the mud and want to stay there. You can see how often in this article we're given tools to apply toward other people. Other people are NOT our problem. But since difficult people are this world's most plentiful resource, it is imperative that we have several effective tools to deal with them. Here's another one.
Pretense is always painful.
And pretense always blocks self-observation. You don't have to pretend. The SuperWisdom Notebooks say to simply see yourself as a learner. This viewpoint of yourself is true and places enormous spiritual resources on your side. We begin to understand that we really do have the power of choice.