The Importance of Cutting Toxic People from Your Life

I think it’s safe to say that we are all pretty sick of the endless barrage of bad news that has come our way these past couple years. That is why this year I made a big change and decided that all I would focus on is injecting positivity into my life. I’ve been through a lot in my life as I’m sure we all have but I CHOOSE to be positive and cut that negative crap from my life as best I can.

I’m going to admit — I’m not one to have a huge group of friends in my life.

I’m definitely more of an introvert than an extrovert and love my alone time, my space and my time to myself. I have about 2-3 good friends and my family around me. Reason being? In the past I’ve been around so much negativity that it really just wore me down. I’ve talked about that I have suffered from anxiety and with this also comes some depression and well — there’s nothing else you can do but try to make positive changes in life to better yourself.

The first step towards this goal I learned was to take a step away from the people in your life who bring you down. And yes I’m talking about toxic people. They are the people who always point out the negative in every situation and when you leave hanging out with the person you feel down and completely drained.

Between paying bills, figuring out where to go in life and forming meaningful adult relationships, we don’t have the time to deal with negative energy. I have talked about my love for the book, “The Secret,” and it completely changed the way I think and act. I started to realize that the more I bring negative thoughts in my life, the more they are going to follow me, if that makes sense. I needed to surround myself with positivity, hard work, achievements and such to attract more of it in my life.

Now, this is not to say you can’t have friends who need to talk and vent about problems they are going through. I’m talking about cutting TOXIC people from your life in general. Those ones who never really have something good to say about you, always find the negative in every situation, criticize your actions and just break you down. Remove those people from your day-to-day and you’ll find time to focus on the things that make you feel good, instead of the opposite.

As I said above, negativity is contagious.

Our actions rub off on those around us, and vice versa. You know that saying, “You are who you hang out with?” Well consider it true. No matter what your outlook on life is, it’s next to impossible to remain unaffected by others. Negativity spreads like wildfire and it’s only a matter of time before you start to notice that you are adopting the same traits. This is why I’ve always said in the past no matter what you are doing in life it is SO important to stay in your own lane, follow your true self and don’t worry about what anyone else is doing.

Now, we’ve all heard the other saying, “Misery loves Company,” and boy is that true. Insecure and unhappy people won’t root for your success. To this day, besides my family, I probably only have about 1-2 friends in my life that have ever been TRULY happy for the success that has come my way. And not because it just fell from the sky, because I actually worked hard for it. Find the people in your life who truly believe in you and want to see the best for you.

Relationships? Well, that’s another thing. I’ve learned what I want and don’t want out of a relationship and anything else gets cut out. I used to spend months and sometimes years of my life working on relationships that were toxic to the core. Granted, I was a lot younger but I’ve learned that all you are doing is delaying an inevitable thing and a toxic relationship will always be that – toxic. Learn your worth and learn what you deserve. I’ve been single for 3 years and as much as I’d love to find “the one,” it hasn’t been in the cards for me yet. I’ve gone and dated guys here and there but the minute I realize it’s turning toxic and not healthy, I cut it out of my life. When you rid your life of the people who bring you down, you’re cleaning space for better things to come. Always remember that.

Healthy relationships, career accomplishments and just time for good ol YOU. These things become so much more attainable once you clear the negativity that has been draining all of your time and emotional energy.

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