256 - Why Being Nice Is Getting Harder

Life Happens with Barb & Michelle

Michelle Maros & Barb Schmidt

Education, Mental Health, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2026

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mean people are everywhere right now and the data confirms it. In this episode, Barb and Michelle unpack why cruelty seems to be escalating, breaking down the different types of mean people we all encounter and what actually drives their behavior. Barb shares a raw, personal story about being screamed at in a parking lot while her mother was dying in hospice, and what that moment taught her about judgment, control, and the stories we never see.

This conversation goes deep into narcissism, spiritual bypassing, the difference between empathy and giving someone a pass, and how to stop carrying what was never yours in the first place. Whether you are dealing with a cruel stranger, a toxic family member, or your own tendency to absorb other people's behavior, this episode gives you a practical framework for protecting your peace without losing your compassion.

What you'll take away:

Why the shift from "thinking it" to "saying it" is fueling a cruelty epidemic
The grocery store moment that reveals how we all judge without knowing someone's story
How to shift from asking "why are they like this" to "what can I do right now"
What a real narcissist looks like and why they genuinely cannot change
The practical difference between forgiving someone and simply being done with them

Don't let someone else's cruelty become the story you carry. Learn how to set it down.

💬 We’d love to hear from you! What insight or moment resonated most with you in this episode? Share in the comments—we truly read every one.

📅 Subscribe & Join Us Next Tuesday for another heartfelt episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle! 💕

🎙️ Hosted by:

https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/

https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/

Join our community ⬇️

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/

Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast

Listen to our podcast anywhere→ https://michellemaros.com/podcast/

🎙️ New episodes of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle are released every Tuesday

✨ Available Now✨ Order Dear Friend to receive daily doses of clarity, hope, and heartfelt encouragement.💌 https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg

📘 Go Deeper with Dear Friend

If this episode resonated with you, you may also love Michelle’s USA TODAY bestselling book, Dear Friend, a daily reflection companion designed to help you reconnect with your inner voice, honor your needs, and find clarity and strength one day at a time.

Because resilience doesn’t begin with changing your circumstances.

It begins with strengthening your relationship with yourself.

And that may be the most important relationship you’ll ever build.

👉 Order your copy: https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg

🎧 Listen to the audiobook and step into a year that truly loves you back: https://amzn.to/459zSdt

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	When my mom was dying, I had to run to the grocery store to grab her.
0:02.9	She was like, in hospice, could have died any minute.
0:05.2	And the cards started moving.
0:06.7	This man screaming at me,
0:09.0	what are you doing? You stupid bitch. Are you so selfish that you don't care about it? I mean, he was just literally screaming. I can't even repeat all of the things that he said. But I'm already saying to me, if he only knew what you were going through. Yes, that's true.
0:21.0	But that's what was making me cry hysterically.
0:22.8	If he only knew he probably wouldn't be doing this.
0:26.1	Sticks and stones may break my bones,
0:28.2	but words will never hurt me. Yes, that's true. But that's what was making me cry hysterically. If he only knew he probably wouldn't be doing this.
0:26.1	Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. That's a lie. There is a story about a woman who every time she went to the grocery store was super nice to the grocery store clerk. And that actually ended up saving his life. One person. That's how thin the line is. If kindness can save someone, what can cruelty do?
0:45.8	Today we're talking about mean people, the types, the reasons, and what isn't yours to carry. Welcome to Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, the mother-daughter podcast where we talk about the stuff that nobody warns you about. So before we get into the why behind meanness, let's start with something that we're all feeling. Does it seem like people are just meaner these days?
1:05.8	The data says that we're not imagining it.
1:07.8	So it might actually be true.
1:09.9	What are you thinking about that, Mom?
1:11.5	I think it is true.
1:12.5	Are people meaner than they used to be?
1:14.0	I think in my opinion, maybe we've always had that streak
1:18.6	in us that judges or that's mean within us.
1:21.7	But I think today we're not afraid to speak it.
1:25.5	There are no filters. If we're thinking it, we're actually saying it. Where I think in the past, we might think it, but rarely do we actually say it. I guess unless we were provoked or unless we just felt like we mean that day. But I think there is an epidemic of, let me just say whatever I'm feeling right now. So it's like we're not maybe taking a pause before saying something or having discernment of how our words are going to land.
1:46.9	We're just feeling a feeling and then speaking on it. So it's like we're not maybe taking a pause before saying something or having discernment of how our words are going to land.
1:47.0	We're just feeling a feeling and then speaking on it no matter if it's going to be hurtful.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Michelle Maros & Barb Schmidt, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Michelle Maros & Barb Schmidt and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.