Sometimes successful politicians or enter-tainers or sports figures complain that they go through a traumatic experience when people suddenly relate to them differently, as if they had suddenly become a figure of awe and wonderment. A politician once said that, after he won an election, he was still the same person he had always been, but that now people treated him with such deference and respect that it made him uncomfortable. When we are thrown into a role in this life that gives us a certain image in the eyes of people, it's helpful to remember that people are merely relating to our role, and we don't need to take things too personally. In the military, when an enlisted person salutes an officer, it is always clear that the salute is for the insignia of rank of the officer and not for his or her personality. There is nothing personal in the salute; so there is no need for the officer to be either puffed up or deflated by the custom. So, too, when we are in positions in which people acknowledge our role or image, we can be graceful and easy-going about what we do in life, without taking it too personally.