Living your day to day life can be stressful and difficult enough all on its own without the negative energy of others clouding up your aura. Even so, it can feel next to impossible sometimes to dispel the wave of pessimism coming your way.

Whether it’s dealing with the terrible, exhausting, woe-is-me attitudes of your coworkers or facing the constant condescension and self-inflated superiority of some family members, the feeling of being constantly drained by others gets old real quick.

The good news is that there are some things you can do to protect yourself from the unwelcome barrage of other people’s negative energy and emotions. Here are 5 ways to protect your positive vibe.

1. If you meet a person with negative energy, resist the urge to fix it for them

When a person is constantly down and out, you may want to take a step back and examine the situation before trying to “help” them out. Is there a reason that “negative Nancy” seems to be their standard disposition? Are they always complaining about other people and full of excuses for why nothing is ever their fault?

This is called a lack of accountability. It’s a problem, but it’s a personal one for those who have it, and there’s nothing you can do that will change their mindset. The best way to protect your energy is to resist the urge to balance out theirs.

2. Don’t play into their mental manipulation tactics

People who carry negative energy around with them will take advantage of and feed off of people with positive energy. If you’re always trying to appease them and succumb to their every mood-based tantrum, it will only show them that they can get attention from and manipulate others when they act that way.

Don’t play into their game by encouraging their temper tantrums. If you do, you could end up trading all of your positive vibes for their negative ones.

3. Do not give a negative person control over your emotions

You may have heard the saying that “the only person in control of your emotions is YOU”. That’s not entirely accurate, though. Each of us may be behind the wheel most of the time when it comes to our emotions, but we’re definitely more than capable of riding passenger while we let those around us steer us off a cliff, metaphorically speaking.

In order to avoid this, if you feel yourself coming under their negative influence, take a deep breath and remind yourself that they can only have control over your emotions if you let them. If a person is upset, that’s their right to feel that way, just as it is yours not to take on their emotional outbursts.

4. Don’t just give them what they want

People with negative energy like to spread it around, hence the saying that “misery loves company”. The best thing you can do is stem the flow of that energy by learning to say no. Whether you say it with your words or with your energy, don’t give in to their mindset by assaulting your own ears by listening to their cruel, negative, or insensitive commentary.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t listen to others that disagree with you about some things, but the moment the conversation turns from being fruitful and open to closed-minded and insulting, just walk away and let it lie.

5. Remember to take care of yourself

Sometimes we can’t always avoid being around negative-oriented people. We do still have to function in the outside world, after all. This is why it’s extra important to remember to love ourselves in our down-time. Take time to do the things that you love and that inspire you.

Whether that’s spending time with people who emanate positive vibes, curling up with your favorite book, or even just laying beneath the stars at night. Whatever it is that makes you fall in love with life every time you do it, make sure to do those things as often as you possibly can and just let your light continue to shine.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

H/T: Relieved