No Critics Allowed (Part 1)

On the wall in the gym I attend is a sign that says “No Critics!”  Every time I see it, I’m reminded that, in life, criticism is just par for the course.  Obviously all criticism isn’t bad.  In fact, we need the right kind of criticism in our life in order to grow.  Even a battery operates on positive & negative.

However, some people are so focused in seeing the negative side of things that they leave zero room for positive things to grow. People like this are entwined in our families, work environments and social circles. It can be emotionally draining just being around them, and you must be careful because their negative attitudes and opinions are venomous and contagious. 

Negativity perpetuates itself, breeds dissatisfaction and clutters the mind.  And when the mind is cluttered with negativity, happiness is hard to come by.

What do you do?  You ignore these people and move on from them when you must. 

Seriously, you have to be strong and know when enough is enough!  Letting go of negative people doesn’t mean you hate them, or that you wish them harm; it just means you care about your own well-being.  Because every time you subtract negative from your life, you make room for more positive.

What kind of people do you need to distance yourself from?

1. Drama Queens

Some people love to stir up controversy and drama for no apparent reason.  Don’t buy in to their hoop-la.  Stay out of other people’s drama and don’t needlessly create your own.

• Don’t spew hostile words at someone who spews them at you. 
• Keep your composure and replace the stink of confrontation with the fragrance of resolution.  The louder the opposition wants to yell, and the more drama they want to stir, the calmer and more confidently you need to think and speak. 
• Don’t let them get to you.
• Be an example of a pure existence; ignore their outlandish antics and focus on kindness.
• Communicate and express yourself from a place of peace, from a place of love, with the best intentions. 
• Use your voice for good – to inspire, to encourage, to educate, and to spread the notions of compassion and understanding. When someone insists on imposing their hostility and drama on you, ignore them and walk away. 

2. Hard To Please People

Some people are impossible to please; you will not be able to break through to them no matter what you do.  Accept this reality.

Throughout your lifetime some people will discredit you, disrespect you and treat you poorly for no apparent reason at all.  Don’t consume yourself with trying to change them or win their approval and don’t make any space in your heart to hate them.  Simply walk away and leave it in God’s hands.  Realize that bit of time you spend on them will be wasted, and any bit of hate and aggravation in your heart will only hurt you.  

3.  Dream Killers

Stop giving credit to those who discredit your dreams.  These people are punishing your potential by slowly extinguishing your inner flame with their watered down vision of what you are capable of achieving.

If you give in and let their negativity convince you of who you are, their madness will wither you away.  You will convert into who they say you are, rather than living honestly as yourself.  In this way, these people will steal your life from you.  You will lose track of where their opinion ends and your reality begins.  Their fiction will become your life’s story.

What you’re capable of is not a function of what others think is possible for you.  So look beyond their presumptions and mental limitations, and connect with your own best vision of what YOU are capable of and how YOUR life can be.  Life, after all, is an open-ended journey, and 99% what you achieve comes directly from what you work to achieve on a daily basis.

God has big plans for you...keep dreaming lofty dreams!

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