Help Me Hera: How can we stop being mean to our friends?

The useful part

Dear Hera, We're sending you this email because we find our behavior ends up harming our friends with how harsh and outright hostile we tend to be towards them. Please may you give us some advice that will help us be less mean-spirited towards our friends? Statler and Waldorf Dear Statler and Waldorf, Thank you for this mysterious email.

How it works

• Intentionally transforming any enduring negative personality trait is slow and tedious.
• It's lucky you have one another, because as two self-proclaimed punishers, you can both hold each other accountable, and turn your misanthropic tendencies on one another when you need an outlet.
• Is it a culture of ribbing that's gotten out of control, or is there genuine evil in your hearts?
• Is your antagonism towards your friends genuine, or a torturous form of affection that isn't landing correctly?
• If you grew up in a family or culture where people bullied each other as a way of...

What to take from it

Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz or fill out this form.

Details worth keeping

Our mean-spirited personalities are social poison. If it were that easy, everyone would have good personalities. It's hard to understand what harsh and hostile looks like.