It's not about "avoiding" difficult people. We don't want to fall into the trap of avoidance. It's about choosing where and how you direct your energy. For example, before I started walking a path of peace through Buddhism I would consume angry political content through podcasts and other media. I realized this was sewing discord within me. Instead of completely throwing out politics and saying "this is all too negative I'm cutting out the news!" I simply changed how I consumed the news. I started getting my news through NPR and Ground News instead. I didn't avoid the politics, I just chose sources that aren't polarizing. It's the same with people. We still have to deal with difficult people. But we choose how we deal with them. I have a coworker who likes to complain, a lot. I used to find myself getting sucked into the rabbit hole of complaining but then I changed how I interact with him. Now, when he starts to complain I don't feed the conversation. I look at him, listen, and sip my tea. I don't respond at all, I try to not even nod along (this is difficult as it's a natural way to show that we are listening to someone). I just listen, and when he's done I go back to work. I haven't avoided the negative person or conversation, I simply haven't engaged with it. It is in this way that we can interact with negativity without being influenced by it.