Five (5) Life Itinerary to BLOCK Negative People
1. Guard Your Time
Negative people can
monopolize your time - even when they're not with you - if you’re not careful.
It's easy to spend two hours dreading a one-hour meeting with a negative
person. Combine that with two hours of venting to a co-worker after the
meeting, and you've just given that person five precious hours of your time.
Don’t allow negative
people to steal your time and energy. Rather than complain about people you
don't enjoy, choose to strike up conversations about pleasurable topics.
Similarly, instead of spending your commute thinking about how much you dislike
that person you have to work with, turn on the radio and listen to music that
reduces your stress. Take back your power by limiting the amount of time you
spend talking about, thinking about, and worrying about unpleasant people.
2. Choose Your
Attitude
Spending time with
negative people can be the fastest way to ruin a good mood. Their pessimistic
outlooks and gloomy attitude can decrease our motivation and change the
way we feel. But allowing a negative person to dictate your emotions gives them
too much power in your life.
Make a conscious effort to choose your attitude. Create a mantra, such as, “I’m going to stay positive today despite the people around me,” and repeat it often to help you stay on track. Take a deep breath and decide that you're going to make it a great day, despite what others say or do.
3. Refocus Your Thoughts
Negative people often
influence what we think about. Perhaps you're so distracted by your colleague's
know-it-all attitude that you can't contribute productively to the meeting. Or,
rather than think about how to improve your performance, you spend more time
thinking about how upset you'll be if that unpleasant co-worker gets a
promotion.
Pay attention to how your thoughts change when you're faced with negative people. The more time you spend dreading, fretting, worrying, and rehashing, the less time you'll have to devote to more productive things. Make a conscious effort to reduce the amount of mental energy you expend on negative people.
4. Choose to Behave
Productively
Negative people can
bring out the worst in us if we're not careful. Sometimes certain
pessimists seem to have the power to raise our blood pressure, for one reason
or another. A normally calm, mild-mannered person may resort to yelling
when he can’t take one more second of negativity. Or, after being surrounded by
negative co-workers for hours, an optimist may find herself convincing others
that the company's future is doomed.
Although it can be tempting to say, “She makes me so mad,” blaming others for your conduct gives them more power. When you act in a manner that isn’t consistent with your usual behavior, accept responsibility for it. Commit to controlling your emotional reactivity and staying true to your values, despite your circumstances.
5. Get Close with Positive
People
It’s difficult to look
on the bright side when you’re surrounded by negativity. Seek out positive
people to keep you balanced. Just like negative people can rub off on you, a
positive person can brighten your spirit.
Identify the positive
people in your life. Proactively schedule time with them on a regular
basis. A quick lunch with a jovial colleague or a family gathering that’s
guaranteed to be filled with laughter can help you stay on track.
Decide that you're not
going to allow negative people to determine how you think, feel, and behave.
Take back your power and focus your time and energy on becoming your best self.
Shared by: MKR
