13 Simple Ways To Deal With Negative People

You've certainly experienced the side effects of being surrounded by negative people. Perhaps it's your coworker who is constantly complaining about their job but is never offering any solutions. Or, a good friend who is speaking unfavorably about others and is always creating drama.

These people are extremely pessimistic and could exhaust anyone. Destructive energy and drama accompany them everywhere. Unless you're careful, they will pull you into their chaos, disrupt your focus and sideline your goals.

So here is what you can do to deal with negativity once and for all:

1. Set boundaries.

Don't force yourself to sit and listen to a pessimist. Their negative energy can seep into your own life and affect your positive attitude. Set your limits and keep some distance from this individual. If you must be around them, just try to keep your interactions short. You cannot control their negative behavior, but you can definitely control whether or not you engage.

2. Avoid listening to their complaints.

People who are constantly complaining about everything will never enhance your life. They won’t offer solutions; they'll only point out problems. They'll knock your ideas and hopes and pull you into their emotional pity party. If a family member, a friend or a coworker shows the classic symptoms of a complainer, just stop socializing. Deal with them only if you absolutely must.

3. Listen to their views and make sure they hear your opinion.

Ok, some people are just pessimists, but what if you haven't given them the chance to express how they feel? A negative person is not always intentionally negative. If you let them hear your mindset and your positive perspective, it might bump their negativity out of the way completely. Give them access to your positivity by vocalizing it, and you might nudge them out of their negative space and into a more positive one.

4. Don't argue with them.

Don’t engage each time someone irritates you with their negativity. Not only will you be viewed as argumentative, but you will also be welcoming the toxicity into your life. Rather than fight, try to ignore any negative comments. Focus on controlling your emotions and prevent the situation from getting. Stay away from unnecessary conflicts. You’ll be respected for that.

5. Stop overanalyzing their behavior.

Negative people can often behave irrationally. You will waste your time and energy if you try to understand their actions. Do whatever possible to prevent yourself from being emotionally invested in their issues.

6. Build a network of positive people.

Having positive people around you not only can make you feel better but it can also help you when you need to confront a pessimist. If somebody knows exactly how to get under your skin, you might not be able to manage the situation all by yourself. When you find yourself becoming overly emotional because of a negative comment, call a friend or a mentor and explain the situation. An objective person can often provide you with a different perspective or a brand new approach.

7. Maintain your positivity.

Your happiness and well-being are too important to let anybody’s negative opinions or rude comments bring you down or change the way you view yourself. Stay positive and start limiting the time you spend with the negative individuals. If you're lucky enough, your positivity will be repugnant to toxic people, and they will gradually fall away naturally.

8. Prefer light topics.

Negative people are often triggered by certain topics. Our first instinct when talking with negative people should be to help them see things more positively. However, if it’s apparent the person is stuck in their negativity, then you might need to avoid deep conversations and just choose a light topic to discuss. Try to lighten the mood. Simple things such as new movies, everyday occurrences, common acquaintances are the best for light conversation.

9. Empathize with them.

If you've ever been annoyed by something before and someone told you to 'just relax', you probably know how negative people feel. The thing is that they feel like that all the time. So, just for once, you could try to empathize with them. They will benefit more from an empathetic ear rather than from those who try to shut them up. Most negative people are perfectly aware of their negativity, and they suffer from it. By helping them to address their feelings, the solutions will more easily come to them (as they're always been hidden inside them anyway).

10. Ignore the negative comments.

One way to help the negative person understand what they're doing wrong is to ignore their negative comments. When they go into a negative swirl, ignore them or reply with a simple "OK". On the other hand, when they are being positive, respond in affirmation and enthusiasm. Do this frequently, and soon they'll know positivity pays off. They will adjust to being more positive accordingly.

11) Be responsible for your reactions.

Whether the individual is negative or not, ultimately you are the one who is thinking the person is negative. Take responsibility for your perceptions. Every single trait can be interpreted it in a positive and a negative manner. Try to see the goodness of the person and then you'll be more positive yourself. It might sound tough initially, but since this person is still in your life, there will be a good thing about them.

12. Smile more often.

Smiling is a simple and easy way to show a negative individual that the world isn’t such an awful place, after all. Negative individuals often grow up with the notion that the whole world is against them, so if everything else fails, your smile may be the last attempt to remind them that there are still other ways to see the world.

13. Take some time off.

If you feel like you've tried too much, then you probably need some time off. Sometimes we simply need to separate ourselves from negative individuals, and that’s perfectly okay. We all have our limits and can only take so much. It’s significant that you honor your own limitations and exit negative situations when necessary and possible.