DEALING WITH NEGATIVE PEOPLE.

Have you ever come across someone who seems never to have any positive perspective about almost everything? I mean someone who always sees only the negative side of things. No matter what you discuss with such person, you can always guess what his response will be. Always negative minded and of course, persistently asking questions to confirm their negative anticipations. Always asking questions like “What if it doesn’t work?” How can you be sure it will work”? Interestingly, such people get so wrapped up in their negativity that they sometimes don't even know they are being negative. Unfortunately, we have to daily interact with such people without even knowing how their negativity affect us. This reminds me of the popular saying (my mum’s favourite actually); “show me your friends and I will tell you who you are”. Believe it or not, you can tell a lot about someone by the company he/she keeps. The people we relate with greatly influence us. There is a high tendency that your outlook towards life will be negative if you are surrounded by negative people. Negativity can be very contagious hence it is important you constantly surround yourself with positive people and be that example for people that are prone to negativity.  You are the average of the people you spend the most time with.  In other words, who you spend your time with has a great impact on the person you eventually become.  If you are around cynical and negative people all the time, before you know it, you will become cynical and negative.

Encounters with negative people can be emotionally challenging and stressful. This is especially true when you are a positive and productive person but have to interact with colleagues, family members or friends who tend to bring you down with their constant negative perspectives. Understanding how to deal with such people and why their behavior causes disruption in your life can help you develop better strategies for interacting with them. Negative people always find something wrong in any situation. They are expert complainers, pessimists, tyrants, worriers. Negative people are not often concerned about the effect their deeds has on others; they simply want to get rid of their own uncomfortable feelings in the fastest way possible. They just want to share it with you and make you share their views thereby dragging you down emotionally, physically and mentally. Negativity destroys relationships, creativity, achievement and of course happiness. Naturally, It is much easier to be a negative person (a pessimist) than to be a positive one (an optimist) just as it is easier to be part of the problem than to be part of the solution. We all have different types of negative people in our lives who try to bring us down on a perfectly good day. While you likely can't avoid these people entirely, you can deal with them in a way that you both walk away from the conversation or by simply figuring out when it's worth listening to them.

Interestingly, negativity is part of natural laws. Being able to differentiate between negativity and positivity means that you can identify positivity. They are poles apart. They are opposites. They attract. If you always want to be happy and be a winner, one of the biggest obstacles to overcome is the influence and opinions of negative thinking/talking people. You might have bad days once in a while but you cannot allow negativity to become your lifestyle, it will destroy you. Focus on facts, not feelings. Each time you catch yourself being unhappy with your life make a list of things God has given you or done for you, and leave your frustrations and heartaches at His feet. Be positive about the outcome of disappointments and focus on the positive side of unfortunate situations. Positive confessions also help a great deal. They bring life to every situation! If you feed yourself (fix your thoughts) on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise, those are the things that subconsciously become the topic of your conversation and invariably manifest in your life. Remember the words of Robert Kiyosaki; "It's not what you say out of your mouth that determines your life, it is what you whisper to yourself that has the most power."

Does who you are and who you want to be reflect in the company you keep?  Start spending time with people who are smart, positive and always optimistic. Relationships should help you, not hurt you. Everybody needs relationships as a support system. I already wrote about relationship last month. You can read it HERE if you missed it. Surround yourself with people who reflect the person you want to be.  Choose friends who you are proud to know, people you admire, love and respect you. People who make your day a little brighter simply by being in it. You have to consciously repel negativity. It is your choice. You have that power. Use it! Once you let go of negative people, positive ones appear. Remember, people either inspire you or they drain you. Chose them wisely.