You catch more flies with honey!

What kind of bees make milk?

One of the things that I have learned and has gotten better as I get older is to be grateful no matter what. If it is something bad happening to me, I ALWAYS TRY TO FIND THE GOOD and be grateful for it. I thank people. You would be surprised how many people do not do this one simple thing. It has created a society of entitled, selfish twits that think the world owes them something. Some of this I learned from maw and paw. It comes from being happy with what you have and being thankful for it. It could disappear at any time. Many people do not know any better, and sometimes I find that refreshing. That is not to say stay stuck where you are, but be grateful for what you have and gracious about it to anyone involved in helping you get it.  
The old adage, you catch more flies with honey is so true. Even if the person is being mean to you, do your best to stay kind, but assertive. The other thing I try to do is see all sides and "walk a mile in the other person's shoes" so to speak even if they are screaming at me. We all can learn from this. Just because someone is being rude ususally there is a reason why - whether or not that reason is as important to you is irrelevant. This is not to say you should do whatever someone wants to stop them from being rude, but by seeking first to understand - by doing this, you can make better decisions about how you want to respond by knowing all contexts. This is something that does not come innately to me, I have to practice it in almost every situation in my life. The key is making yourself aware to your own behavior in the situation, and making sure that you are not just reacting - but PROACTIVELY choosing to respond in the appropriate manner.