40+ Simple Ways To Stay Happy With Negative People

We all know the benefits of being happy on our physical and mental well-being. Even if you are an optimistic person, it can be difficult to maintain a positive attitude if you are surrounded by people who spread negativity.

If you want to maintain your optimistic mindset and be happy, you need to focus on yourself and drive away negativity.

stay happy with negative people: Guide to Staying True to Yourself

Acknowledging your negativity

You may have been influenced by a negative person and have developed a few of his/her pessimistic attributes. In that case, the first step towards positivity and happiness would be to accept the flaw in you.

Acknowledge to yourself and others that you are consciously aware that you currently possess a negative mindset. When a person is reluctant to accept that they are in a bad place, the proper way to treat their problem becomes all the more difficult.

Controlling your attitude

The very step in maintaining a happy and positive mindset is to understand that you won your happiness and nobody can take it away from you if you don’t want to. Being happy is a choice and it completely depends on you.

Never be victimized by another person’s negative mentality and impolite attitude. Remind yourself of this more when you are communicating with a pessimistic person. Give yourself a break and step aside but don’t be rude to the person.

Prepare yourself for the negativity

If you are already aware that you will soon be in the presence of a person who is a pessimist or is in the worst emotional state one could imagine, prepare yourself for the interaction.

Make yourself ready to accept that you will be in contact with this person and will communicate with them, but you choose not to pick up their negative thoughts and emotions. This will help you to look at the person’s case from a different perspective.

Focusing on yourself

When you focus too much on the negativity and pessimism emanating from a person, you will gradually be drawn into it and there will be no going back. If you want to create a barrier between your thoughts and that of the other person, all you need to do is focus on maintaining your optimism.

This is important to be understood because you cannot bring a change in his/her mentality, but you can protect the happiness you already have.

Accepting the differences in the journey of life

You also need to remember that life teaches us lessons differently and your way of living differs. Maybe the negative people exist as a part of your life for a specific reason. Also, they might realize the truth about themselves gradually.

This is what intellectuals refer to as ‘karma’. It depends on the way you view the entire thing. It’s better to look at things from a broader perspective so that our thinking is not just restricted to negative thoughts.

Validating your thoughts and emotions

When you consider your inner feelings as important, no other person can ignore them or disregard them through their negativity. Think about how you feel about things and validate them fully. When you evaluate your thoughts highly, you are least bothered if other people might judge you or implore you to make a change in your thought process.

Rather, try focusing on the thoughts and feelings of an optimistic person, and incorporate those things in your life to be happy.

Stop being judgemental

If you are quick to judge someone, you may be wrong about the entire negativity concept. When you think a person to be very negative, he might just be different from you or may have a different perspective towards things.

Try keeping an open mind and heart to their point of view, and never ignore the possibility of learning something new. What may seem to be a negative outlook can be their way of showing affection and concern for you.

Have your own ‘mantra’

You can choose a ‘mantra’ for yourself- a phrase that will act as a spiritual implement for you. It may help you to stay calm during extreme stress conditions or motivate you when you feel low.

Whenever you are surrounded by negative people who may try to ‘kill your vibe’ repeat your mantra to yourself and you’ll see how it keeps you positive. It is different for different people. You can choose a popular motivating quote or a sacred hymn.

Set up restrictions

There must be a limit to what you do for and give to other people. Taking care of others’ well-being must not lead you to ignore your emotions and requirements. If you are influenced deeply by the negativity spread by your friends or family, you will end up trying to help them out, and consequently ignoring your well-being.

Learn to have some boundaries and the distance could probably act as a healer to your relationship if you start having problems.

Avoiding negative people

This is the best thing you can do. The way to preserve your happiness is to keep yourself away from such people who might disturb your mental peace. Try looking for optimistic and happy people more so that they can have a positive influence on your life.

Even if you cannot avoid negative people, try to minimize your interactions with them as much as possible. This can be easily done if these friends are connected to you through virtual media.

Spare time to center yourself

Every day, when you wake up and have that cup of your morning coffee, spare that time thinking about the day. Plan what you expect to do throughout the day and think of achieving positive things.

You can also keep a gratitude journal and write in it about all the things and people in your life that you are grateful for. If you firmly believe in the power of spirituality and belong to a specific culture, do your morning prayers.

Reaching out to a third person

If you discuss your problem with a third person, he/she may be able to look at the situation from a fresh perspective. Their opinion might help you to find newer ways to stay optimistic and happy and look at the negative individual’s outlook from a separate point of view.

But, in this case, you have to keep in mind that this person must be completely impartial to both of you- somebody who is not close to any of you.

Identifying your trigger points

You must always be aware of the situations or attributes which are a threat to your happiness. This way, you will recognize them instantly when you see any of them in a negative person and you will know what exactly is bothering you.

It can be a specific discussion about a topic you are very sensitive about or an action that reminds you of someone who treated you badly. Learn to know yourself better so that you can protect yourself.

Search for positivity in the people you meet

No person can be completely negative; everyone possesses his/her own positive and negative virtues. Try focusing on their positive qualities and learn from them.

Even if you are unsupportive of the pessimistic vibe they give away, or the negative expression of their thoughts, learn to appreciate their good qualities and try incorporating them as a part of your practice to become a positive and happier person.

What you could try is being compassionate and helping them to remove negativity.

Not taking it personally

This is a very important thing to consider whilst you are closely interacting with a negative person. A part of being sympathetic towards these people is to understand that their negative outlook is the result of the difficulties they faced in their lives and is an expression of their inner regrets and insecurities.

Constantly remind yourself that the negativity envelopes them, and not you. So don’t take the negative expressions and actions in regard personally and keep yourself mentally aloof.

Stop gossiping

A negative person will always attempt to strike a conversation that includes bad-mouthing another person, and this will lead you to keep gossiping. This is a very easy way to spread negativity in yourself.

Always remember that you wouldn’t like it much yourself if another person spoke about you the way you have been doing. Thus, it is always better to ignore people who want to have these conversations. If you see someone beginning such a conversation, redirect the topic.

Overlook negativity

Never try to incorporate another person’s pessimistic mindset into yourself. If you find yourself being surrounded by excessive negative emotions and see a negative ‘vibe’ going on, try your best to overlook it and focus on the positive aspects.

It is perfectly okay for the other person to differ from your perspective because this will just make you more carefree and less interested in their thoughts and opinions. Your positivity might be gradually transferred into the other person as well.

Never filter out positivity

If you find yourself indulging in pessimistic self-talk, it might be the effect of your focusing more on the negative aspects of a situation or a person and your ignorance of the positive and inspiring elements.

You always engage yourself in such conversations when your mind concentrates on the things you’ve been doing wrong or the negative thoughts that fill your mind. The best way to fix this is redirecting your focus on the things that you’ve been doing well.

Being more attentive to your emotions

Set aside some time from your schedule to focus on your thoughts. Think very carefully and recognize if your mind is mostly filled with positive or negative thoughts. If you find the answer to be the latter one, make efforts immediately and try fixing the issue by looking at things from a positive point of view.

Do not reproach yourself if you take the time to think positively. Developing positivity and mental flexibility takes a lot of time and effort.

Maintaining a balanced lifestyle

Our physical and mental health are interconnected. To maintain good emotional health, you must also take good care of your health. Being hungry or weak could make you irritated and unhappy.

Eat a balanced diet, take enough rest, exercise regularly- be active to be emotionally strong. Spending some time to keep your body strong every day could have a positive impact on your mood and help you to get rid of all the stress factors and focus on positive things.

Redirect their thoughts

The process of staying positive in the presence of a negative person will be easier if you could zone out the negative talk in the first place. When a person talks to you about his problems or vents out his/her frustration and anxieties to you, be polite and listen to all they have to say.

Let them get it out and then take a chance to redirect the topic to a more positive genre and try to think fresh.

Going for a tech detox

Too much connection with other people can be a problem for you and your mental health. If you are helping others with their negative issues in life, you will probably have no time for yourself by the end of the day.

Your virtual life doesn’t matter at all, and your social media friends are not very important to you. Take a break from all the technological advancements, once in a while. Calm our brain from the toxicity of social media.

Being grateful

The pathway to be a happier person with an optimistic attitude starts from learning to be grateful and be appreciative of the things we have in our lives. Gratitude and happiness are directly linked to each other.

When you focus on the things you are grateful for in life, it takes your mind off the things that stress you or irritate you. This will eventually make you feel better and help you to learn how to let go of things.

Being compassionate to yourself

You can be your best and worst reviewer. This is why you tend to beat yourself down when you feel negative. It is easy for a negative person to influence a person who is filled with self-doubt. Therefore, compliment yourself now and then, and develop your self-confidence.

This will consequently develop your positive mindset. Be intent on regularly focusing on the positive aspects of your life and possessing a more sympathetic attitude to yourself for healthier and developed mental health.

Reframing thoughts

Try to identify the expressions of negativity in your words and actions, if you think you have been influenced accordingly by someone. Look for the negative words you use and things you do that bring you down or make you all the more pessimistic.

According to professional psychologists, repetition of negative phrases can make a person more deeply immersed in a pool of negativity. Therefore, identify the negativity in your narrative, if any, and try to correct it as required.

Try laughing

Your positivity and resilience are reflected more profoundly if you are a person with a very good sense of humor. Look for fun in every little thing around you, every little incident, and look for things that always make you laugh more.

If you can develop this habit, staying positive and having an optimistic outlook, even in the presence of a hundred negative people, will be a very easy task for you and you will always be a happy person.

Set your priorities

When you interact with a negative person closely, consider yourself if you think this is necessary for you. True, no one likes to be rude to someone, or stop communicating with a friend, but if this person is bringing in a lot of negativity into your life, it’s better to think about the matter from a different perspective.

Ask yourself if this person is very important or very close to you and if you can or can’t do without him/her.

Consider it a challenge to yourself

When you come in close contact with a negative person, try taking the good things. Consider this as a challenge to yourself. Try thinking about why the person behaves the way he/she does and identify their mistakes.

Place yourself in that situation and think about what you would’ve done. This will help you to understand your mindset and make changes if needed. Prepare yourself for uncertainties, so that you don’t look at things from a negative point of view.

Verdict

There will always be a person in your life who you cannot simply ignore, no matter how pessimistic he/she is. Therefore, you have to learn how to channel your powers to keep yourself positive and refrain from being influenced by the negative aspects of people you communicate with. As discussed above, only you can protect it from being compromised.