5 Tips to Help you deal with the Negative Nancys (or Nathans) in your life!

Does other people’s negative energy bring you down? Maybe it’s your coworkers, family members, or even friends you’ve grown apart from.

When you’re surrounded by negativity, it’s easy to absorb that energy and start to feel negative yourself. This can mess with your mindset and make you feel drained.

A blog by Catherine Beard from The Blissful Mind

That’s why it’s so important to be around people who you easily connect with and who uplift your spirits. We all know that’s not always possible though, especially since we don’t get to choose our family members or coworkers.

That being said, there are ways we can bring positivity to situations and not let the negativity cloud our minds. In this post, I’m sharing five tips for how to deal with negative people so they don’t get into your head.

How Negativity Affects You


We’ve all dealt with negative, frustrated, and overbearing people in our lives. I remember working with someone who was in a state of panic. They were trying to figure something out at the last minute and were clearly frustrated that things weren’t going to plan. In turn, I was getting frustrated because they were being impatient and sassy towards me.

A quote that an old coworker used to say came to mind:

“Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.”

Haven’t we all been in situations where someone else’s poor planning ends up with them taking their frustration out on us? I’m sure you’ve done the same to other people too. The thing is that it makes everyone’s life miserable.

When someone asks me to do something from a place of panic and frustration, it makes ME feel panicked and frustrated. If that same person took the time to gather their composure before asking me to do something, I’d be able to help out from a place of composure too.

Sometimes dealing with someone else’s negativity is more than a one-time instance. Everyone gets frustrated from time to time, but there are also those people who constantly seem to bring our energy down. Sometimes it’s an entire environment full of people who don’t share the same goals as you.

Whatever it is, you can feel yourself being affected when you’re around them. Most of us tend to absorb the mood of whoever’s around us, so how do we avoid letting negative people drain our energy when we can’t escape them? Here are a few tips to help:

How To Deal With Negative People


1. Detach

Remember that the way people act has nothing to do with you. Detach yourself from their frustrations and don’t internalize them as your fault. They have their own things to work through, and that’s on their shoulders to deal with.

2. Avoid Blame

Don’t blame, assume, or attack them. Telling people they should “stop being so negative” usually doesn’t go well. Show this person the compassion and empathy you want them to show you. Just don’t let them walk all over you (see point #4).

3. Respond Calmly

Respond the way you would want them to talk to you. Avoid getting passive aggressive because that doesn’t help anybody. If they’re gossiping or putting others down, either change the conversation or walk away.

4. Be Firm

Be firm with your boundaries. When someone does something that crosses a line, make it known. You have to stick up for your beliefs, your time, and your energy because otherwise people will take advantage of these things.

5. Find The Positive

Identify what gives you positive energy. This could be certain people, TV shows, books, exercise, self-care, etc. Seek these things out often, especially when you feel like others are draining your energy. And if someone else’s negative energy is compromising your happiness, walk away (even if that means forever).

How do you deal with negative people?

I hope this post has given you some tips to handle negative energy when it comes your way. If you can find ways to stay calm and protect your own energy, you can avoid letting negativity affect you.

© Copyright by Catherine from The Blissfull Mind

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