Strategies for Dealing with Negative People
On a daily basis we can relate to people who are pessimistic and transmit a destructive energy that can have a direct influence on us, for example: in our workplace, within the family or friends. They usually complain endlessly and do not offer a solution, and may even speak ill of someone else in their group and cause a conflict.
These negative people can make us feel bad, spreading their chaos, affecting our self-esteem and mood. Knowing how to deal with these types of people in our day-to-day life, both outside and inside our home, will help us to maintain our position and keep our limits.
In this article we will look at the following 6 strategies that will help you deal with negative people:
1. Be clear about your limits
It is important to be able to establish our limits and position. Don’t feel pressured to tolerate actions or attitudes that are unacceptable such as physical aggression, humiliation or lying dysfunction as this will affect your self-esteem and influence your actions.
If it is necessary to take a distance and implement your limits it is fine, first of all there is your integrity. Perhaps with this we cannot control the negative attitudes of others, but you can decide whether to let them affect you or not.
2. Choose your battles wisely
Don’t take the negative attitudes of others to the personal, for this the best thing is indifference. If you act with anger and rage that person will have won the battle and you are giving them the opportunity to enter your life the toxic. Instead of arguing, it is better to keep the margin and not give it the importance it lacks, thus avoiding unnecessary confrontation.
3. Focus on the positive
Negative people are always focused on the bad things not only of others but of themselves, in this case it is best to direct the conversations towards a positive focus, this will change the tone of the situation. Keep a positive attitude and don’t let other people’s opinions affect your perception.
4. Show them the problem they have
Deep down these people have a dissatisfaction with themselves and suffer from irritability, given this they tend to be more distrustful and unable to enjoy the good things around them. Therefore
, in a situation of tension we can express to them that they are fundamentally wrong and that we are here to support them if they really want to change that attitude. Hopefully they could change their behavior and thus improve their relationships, otherwise it would be better to avoid and ignore.
5. Surround yourself with positive people
Keep in mind that emotional intelligence is important in order to recognize when someone around us is not doing well and when we need help to cope or get out of the negative relationship altogether. For this it is important to have people by our side who still have something good to contribute to our lives.
Finally, do not cling to, or emotionally assume, the negative person’s situation. Remember that you are only responsible for your actions and your words so others must be consistent with their emotions.