~Starve the negative, feed the positive.~
When was the last time you saw an old friend at the grocery and stopped to ask them how they were, only to regret it within seconds of them answering? They went on and on about how absolutely horrible their life was.
Time vampires. They sucked the life right out of you for a full 10 minutes that surely felt like 10 hours. You couldn’t get away fast enough. You were in a good mood before you saw them and now you just want to go home and cry. How many times has this happened to you?
The worst part of it is that you didn’t know how to deal with it properly and the whole conversation controlled your mood for the rest of your day.
- There has to be a way to stop this madness.
- There has to be a way to stay in control and not let this get out of hand ever again.
Before we go into the ways to protect yourself from this, it’s important to understand why and how this happens.
Negative people with tales of woe love audiences. They love to dump on anyone and everyone so that someone can rub their back and say "poor you". It validates them and their misery. They thrive on it. When we play into it, we are feeding them and they will go on forever.
You heard the saying "misery loves company". It’s true. How then, do we shield ourselves from all this negativity? How do we protect our own energy? It’s easier than you think.
Here are 7 Ways to Protect Yourself from Energy Vampires
1. Stop them in their tracks.
This may seem cold and heartless but it’s necessary. If they are whining senselessly about "the car broke down and little Johnny’s teacher is so mean and my neighbour is a jerk and and and", well that’s useless information that no one wants to hear.
Stop them. As soon as you can see the direction the conversation is taking, make it stop. Turn it around immediately by saying positive things OR completely shut them down by telling them that you really don’t want to hear that sort of talk.
It may seem mean, but really it’s not
. It will be an eye opener for them and they will think twice before doing it again. At least with you.
2. Spread positive energy.
If you happen to be in a group with other people and there is some negative energy flying around, don’t be afraid to let your light shine through and be the positive one that changes the tone. You will see how quickly everyone’s attitude will change and frowns will turn to smiles.
3. Form a protective barrier.
This may sound kind of hokey but try it. If you know you have to go see someone that has a reputation for being Debbie Downer, put on a shield of love.
Before you get there, imagine you are guarded by an imaginary shield of positive light and love. Nothing can penetrate. You are well protected behind this shield and all negativity will just bounce off. It’s a fun exercise and it does work.
4. Magnify your positive aura.
Practice tips and tools that will keep your positivity at an all-time high.
- Repeat positive affirmations.
- Listen to motivating podcasts.
- Read happy books.
All these things, and more, will keep you on a positive high so when you do encounter negative people it will have little to no effect on you.
5. Hang out with the happy people.
The more time we spend with happy, upbeat, optimistic people, the less time we will have to spend with the negative ones. They will eventually get the hint and either change their attitude or leave you alone.
Find out: Are you displaying any of these 8 toxic behaviours that are putting people off?
6. Be honest with them or drop them like a hot potato.
Breaking up is hard to do. Especially when it comes to our so called friends.
It seems the only time they ever call you lately is to whine, complain, vent and cry. They never call you to hang out at the movies or go shopping or go for a nice walk down at the park to feed chipmunks. Nope. It’s only to whine whine and whine some more.
Tell them you love them and you would like to hang out with them but your time together is never fun anymore. Let them know that if you can’t have a fun relationship with them then you must remove them from your life.
This will do one of two things. Wake them up or piss them off. Either way, the choice is now theirs.
7. Send them love and prayers.
This is easy and very effective in helping you to avoid any guilt feelings you may encounter because you have decided to drop negative people from your life.
There is nothing more you can do for them. You’ve tried to help them, listened to them longer than you would have liked but it must come to an end. All you can do now is pray for them and send them love.
Remember, the Universe will send out exactly what you are putting out. Send love. It’s the only way to go.
Use guided meditation to protect your energy, heal your hear and soul and feel like you just drank an elixir of life -- and go deep inside your heart right from right here!
Try to remember that negative people choose to be that way. You can offer advice and tools to help them turn it around to be positive but the final decision is theirs. Not yours. Do what you can but don’t let it consume you. Stay positive. It just may rub off on them.
