Nov 24
8 Types of Negative People | How To Spot Them and Stay Away
Stop giving negative people power over you
There are negative people all around
You meet several people in your everyday life. The people you interact and associate with greatly influence your life — they affect your behavior to a large extent: how you think, talk, and act.
To remain positive and have a progressive outlook, identify these eight types of negative people around you, red flag them, and stay clear of them.
1. Those who see problems everywhere
Life is full of problems; they are inevitable and part of your daily routine.
People who focus only on problems spend most of their time cribbing, complaining, and whining about them.
But that doesn’t help you in any way — it neither sorts out your issues nor betters your situation. So shun the company of people who make you feel stuck with your problems.
Instead, focus on developing a problem-solving mindset that will make you look at your problems positively and help you figure out the way forward.
2. Those who procrastinate
There are two ways of getting rid of the work you’ve got to do: one, finish it, and two, postpone it.
The difference, however, is enormous in terms of the outcome. But a particular type of people is unable to comprehend that.
Stay clear of people who procrastinate and put off everything to be dealt with later. They are the ones who always have some excuse or explanation for procrastinating and thus have a massive pile of work waiting to be done.
This not only generates undue stress but also makes you fall behind schedules, miss deadlines, and lag in life.
Instead, train yourself to be a ‘now’ person instead of a ‘later’ person and try to do as much work as possible in the present moment — as and when it comes to you. That is the key to success.
3. Those who criticize others
Some people have an incurable habit of pulling others down.
They can’t stand anything good in others. They’ll hate anything and everything about other people and look for opportunities to tear them to bits with their scathing criticism.
Such people never learn anything from others because they fail to understand that you may be good, but to better yourself, you need to develop the habit of discovering and appreciating the goodness in others as well.
Only when you accept others have positive qualities you lack will you be motivated to change your life and take yourself towards personal development and self-improvement.
Therefore, distance yourself from such people who have only negativity and criticism to offer. They are the ones who can adversely impact you and come in your way of living a happy life.
4. Those who play it safe all the time
Life is never risk-free. If you want to achieve anything worthwhile, you’ll have to be bold enough to move out of your comfort zone, take your chances and seek new opportunities to learn and grow.
Confining yourself in your cocoon will condemn you to mediocrity.
People who are satisfied with the status quo and are opposed to any kind of risk — big or small, never attain much success in life.
Playing it safe all the time infuses fear and self-doubt, and you get used to keeping away from everything that gives a sense of discomfort or uneasiness. Hence, the best thing to do is to cut out people from your life who are always afraid of trying new things and are happy with the average.
Life offers infinite possibilities and innumerable opportunities to tap your full potential. Stretch your boundaries and achieve all that you desire.
5. Those who don’t own their mistakes
We all make mistakes. It’s a part of being human.
But some people are in complete denial of the fact that they can also sometimes be at fault. Such people project themselves as perfect and flawless and can never err.
So when mistakes happen — and they happen pretty often — these people are looking for scapegoats to push the blame on.
If that’s not possible, they’ll go to any length to deny or hide their mistakes. As a result, they not only keep repeating the same mistakes repeatedly but also lose friends in the process.
It’s a no-brainer that when you don’t accept your mistakes and learn from them, you are bound to commit them repeatedly. And when you throw the blame for your mistakes on others, you are sure to lose their association and friendship in the long run.
So keep away from such negative people and tune them out if you want to move ahead towards success.
6. Those who are jealous of you
There will always be jealous people in this world. No matter how good you are or how much you support and help others, some will overlook your positive side and be jealous of your success, achievements, or goodness.
These people could be from your friends’ circle, colleagues, or extended family members. The closer your relationship with them, the more you will be pained to know that instead of being happy for you that you’re doing well in life, they harbor feelings of jealousy in their heart.
Any day, you’ll be better off without these people. However, it’s difficult to completely cut off ties with them since they’re from your inner circle but make every possible effort to maintain a safe distance from such negative people.
7. Those who are only interested in gossip
While most people aspire to become successful and focus on achieving their goals, some have neither aim nor ambition.
Their sole interest is in what’s happening in other people’s lives, and they are hungry for having the latest information about everything of everyone in their friend’s circle. They neither have their boundaries nor respect others people’s boundaries or privacy.
They gossip incessantly and carelessly, carrying tales from one person to another, misinterpreting things and making a mountain of a mole without giving two hoots about someone’s feelings.
Such people can be highly distracting and off-track you by feeding you the wrong information. Identify and keep a safe distance from them, as they can prove to be counterproductive for you.
8. Those who indulge in false praise
It is always pleasant to hear good things about yourself. But some people exploit this human craving and shower lavish praise on you.
On the surface, they’ll sound like your die-hard fans and great admirers, but in reality, they are manipulators with vested interests and a hidden agenda.
It’s a common truth that no matter how good a person is, each has flaws, shortcomings, and weaknesses. They make mistakes, have bad judgments, and make poor choices.
Wise people know their negative traits and try to improve upon their flaws. It’s foolish who fall into the trap of the sycophants.
If you want to better yourself, never associate with people who blindly praise you while ignoring your faults and mistakes; get rid of such people immediately.
Instead, surround yourself with supportive and helpful people who are genuinely concerned about you and are unafraid to offer constructive feedback to draw attention to your blind spots and help you overcome them.
In Conclusion
Negative people can create more problems in your life by disturbing your peace of mind, distracting you from your goals, and being a stumbling block in your success journey.
Be mindful of such people, and stay away from them. Remember, such people always have some hidden agenda.
Choose wisely who you associate with. When you surround yourself with genuine people — who genuinely care about you, they will make sincere efforts to help you on your self-improvement journey. They are the ones who will give positive vibes and help you bring out the best in you.
Being in the company of those who are doers and achievers inspires you to pursue excellence and chase your life goals. Such people will help and support you in pursuing success and reaching the next higher level.
Originally published on drroopleen.com
Dr. Roopleen is the author of ‘And So Can You’ and From Average to Awesome
