The world is a small place and no matter how hard we try to avoid negative people, we will end up running into them sooner or later.
It’s better that you run into negative people sooner because they present a perfect opportunity to practice bettering yourself. With every negativity, there is always a way to turn it around or use it to your benefit.
Now, I’m not saying to go out and start problems with people. Instead, whenever negativity happens to come your way, look for the good you can take out of it.
Below are some tips on how you can break the shackles that toxic people have on you.
An opinion is just an opinion
When you’re in the heat of the moment, an opinion may seem more than what it is. You must learn to take a deep breath and calm yourself. If you go through life reacting to every little negative thing that’s thrown in your direction, you’re hurting no one but yourself.
Just remember that everyone is full of opinions, and you can’t let each and every negative one hurt you.
Growth comes from pain
Before I learned to outgrow the issues that would arise in my life, it would take me about three days to get over what people would do or say to me. I was one of those people. A day was the minimum it took to get back to my happy self.
But the more bad situations happened, the better I got at coping. My heart became more resilient and my mind wised up on what to do next.
Life is about learning, so when negative people want to try and bring you down, it may work temporarily, but you should rally and become stronger than ever.
Forgive and let go
People will always do an occasional wrong to you, but what you do about it makes all the difference. Holding a grudge against an old friend, family member, or even some stranger you’ll never see again will bring you more pain than it will bring them.
While you’re caught up on what they did, they have already moved on and forgotten about it. Holding a grudge against another will only turn you into what you hate.
Learn to forgive those that have hurt you and feel the weight lifting from your shoulders. I’m telling you this because, for most of my life, I hated my mother’s boyfriend. It marked the start of my depression and I held on to the hate I had for him for 7+ years before I finally learn to forgive and let go.
I learned to forgive others, but most importantly I learned to forgive myself, and the chains became light as feathers.
See Also: 12 Things To Let Go If You Really Want to Live A Happy Life
Change friends and environments
Sometimes, it may not be that you keep running into negative people, but that you surround yourself with negative people and hang around toxic environments.
Even childhood friends will have to be let go of at some point. You love the people around you because you feel comfortable, but if all they bring is pain to your life, don’t you think you owe it to yourself to be happy?
Everyone is in your life for a reason. You have to know when their time is up because a greater friendship is waiting for you around the corner.
See Also: 8 Types of Toxic Friends That Are Holding Your Happiness Hostage
You’re doing something right
Some people find happiness by growing and constantly improving themselves, and some find happiness by causing others pain.
You must accept facts, that some people can’t be swayed from who they are choosing to be. Conviction is something that is nearly impossible to change in a person.
So when you start receiving bad vibes from others, it might just mean you are doing something right. Negative people don’t want to see others rise because it reminds them they aren’t doing anything with their lives, and rather than be encouraged and try to climb with you, they want to bring you down to their level.
They need something to compare themselves to when the worst thing someone can do is compare themselves to another.
It’s easy to fall to the levels of people who are toxic, but if you follow these five simple steps you will be able to deal with negative people easier.
Tomorrow is not promised, so enjoy your life and be the best you. Don’t try and find fault in others when things are going wrong in your life. Pain doesn’t last forever, especially when you know how to smile through the hard times and still see light despite shade being thrown in your direction.
Live your life to the fullest and always remember you can overcome any obstacle.