Episode Details
Back to EpisodesHow to Protect Your Peace When Someone Tries to Provoke You
Description
What would you do if you were trapped on a plane beside a hostile stranger who repeatedly insulted you, touched you without permission and tried to provoke a reaction?
On his way to Cancún, Dr. Tommie Lewis faced exactly that situation for nearly two hours. But instead of matching hostility with hostility, he remained grounded, protected his boundaries and made a powerful decision: no one was going to disrupt his peace.
In this unforgettable episode of Diversity Conversations, Tommie shares the emotional intelligence practice that helped him navigate the encounter: his “mental board members.” He explains how the different voices within us—anger, fear, frustration, patience, wisdom and compassion—compete to guide our behavior, and how we can intentionally choose the voice that leads toward the outcome we truly want.
Together, Tommie and Eric Ellis explore what it means to:
- Remain calm when someone tries to provoke you
- Set boundaries without surrendering your humanity
- Recognize the pain behind another person’s behavior
- Choose a response instead of being controlled by a reaction
- Protect your peace without abandoning compassion
- Navigate self-doubt and imposter syndrome
- Let wisdom—not simply the loudest inner voice—lead
This is a raw and deeply human conversation about civility, empathy, faith, leadership and the quiet decisions that reveal who we truly are under pressure.
When hostility enters the room, which voice within you will lead?
emotional intelligence, protect your peace, staying calm under pressure, conflict resolution, emotional regulation, self-control, responding to hostility, setting boundaries, empathy, compassion, mental board members, leadership, civility, humanity, difficult people, personal growth, imposter syndrome, faith, resilience, Dr. Tommie Lewis, Eric Ellis, Diversity Conversations
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