How to Deal With Toxic People – 7 Smart Tips You Haven’t Heard Before

Inside: How to deal with toxic people in your life using 7 smart ways I bet you haven’t heard before. Take a deep breath in and let’s get to it!

Don’t we all have someone in our life who leaves us vulnerable, depleted, drained, negative and pessimistic? 

Your cruising along and BAM, they instantly knock the happiness right out of your sails.

We label these people as “toxic”. 

They are narcissistic, manipulative, gossipers who love to put others down and make you feel guilty.

And here’s the thing:

We are busy, busy carting the kids around, busy managing a household, busy trying to keep it all together.

We don’t have time for this!

There is no space in our lives for people who make us feel anything but great!

But:

Here’s some bad news, many toxic people in our life we can’t get rid of so easily, or at all. Think your boss, a worker at your child’s school, or, (*gasp*) your dreaded mother in law.

Well:

There is STILL some good news:

There are steps we can, to make sure these toxic people don’t bring us down. 

And these steps actually work!

Okay, so let’s get to it, how to deal with toxic people.

What is a Toxic Person

In order to detox toxic people from our lives, we need to understand what a toxic person is.

They are master chameleons, and can even be disguised as your best friend, or family member.

There is no monitor that will beep red whenever a toxic person enters your sacred space, so the best way to tell if you have a toxic person in your life is to pay attention to how you feel after you are around this person.

If you feel drained, negative and emotionally exhausted after hanging out with someone. They are toxic to you.

Key behaviors of a toxic person:

• They will criticize you constantly
• Spread negativity
• They are jealous and manipulative of you
• They constantly play the victim
• They are self-centered

How To Deal With Toxic People…You Need To Know This

So here’s the ironic thing about “toxic people”, when we complain about toxic people aren’t we ourselves being toxic?

Are you playing the victim?

Stop being the victim. 

Is anyone else really responsible for how you feel inside? 

Really ask yourself that question…

…we all love to blame and truly we believe that somehow ‘they’ meaning toxic people have control over our experiences. 

How convenient that we overlook our own responsibility in our relationships.

Epidemic of Blame

We are living in an epidemic of blame, even though we choose who we let into our lives and for those we didn’t choose to let in (the overbearing mother in law or annoying coworker) we choose how these people make us feel. 

Remember this:

If we enter into an exchange preparing for a negative experience then we will receive a negative experience.

“Don’t let negative and toxic people rent space in your head. Raise the rent and kick them out.”

The problem with blaming others is that it leaves us powerless to change.  We have a mistaken belief that our problems lie outside of our control, that they are outer problems.  

Have you ever stopped to consider that we don’t have to let someone else’s behavior become our problem? 

It’s always my boss’s fault for being so rude or my mother’s fault for being so ignorant.

Seriously, these are your problems and in saying that I really mean seriously these are your problems!

Try walking away from an unpleasant interaction thinking, “Wow that was very unpleasant, their inner delusions must be strong today, I’m going to let it go now.”  Then regain your peace.

Have you seen Mindfulmazing’s Worry Journal? This is a 120+ page 3-month guided journal that will help you release your worries and embrace your life.

What would your life look like if you woke up every day with a clear head, not worrying about every little thing and feeling a sense of freedom and lightness? Well, don’t dream about it, do it!

---

So listen up because we can change. 

We don’t have to give up on ‘toxic people’ and though they might not become our best friends, we can let go of the negative experience and keep our cool.

“Friends are supposed to make you feel better about yourself. Remember that”

Everyone has some toxic elements

It’s important to note that we are all battling inner delusions, no one is perfect. 

We all struggle with pride, jealousy, attachment, ignorance, fear, and anger.  

Of course, we can’t fix anyone else’s inner battles but we have absolute control over our own internal state AND our reactions to other’s internal states.

Those who can grasp this concept have a huge advantage in avoiding conflict and creating meaningful relationships.

It’s really not such a big secret, but most people aren’t aware of this, you are not powerless to all the outer turmoil. 

You have everything you need right now to remove toxicity from your life for good.

So:

Now that we have examined our own inner workings a little, let’s get to it, and look at how to deal with toxic people.

How to Deal with Toxic People – 7 Smart Ways

1.  Do you love yourself?

I mean do you really love yourself?

Because if you do chances are that you won’t have toxic relationships, you will be a doorman to your life.   

Don’t allow toxic behavior in.

• Know that you are worthy.
• Know that you are beautiful. 
• Know that you are a good person. 
• Know that you are extremely important. 

When we get to know and love ourselves in a meaningful spiritual way we intrinsically know that we deserve respect.

2.  Do you love others?

I mean is it genuine? 

Most can see beyond fake, overcompensated love.  Stretch your love for even those who are difficult to love. 

Everyone is worthy of love, no matter how deluded or annoying they might be to you.

When you love unconditionally you will be surprised at how this will change someone’s reaction to you.

If there’s anger or judgment behind your intentions, that will shine through.

People unconsciously pick up on that, and once they do, its a toxic relationship from both sides.

---

3.  Have you learned how to say NO?

This is one magical little word that can change your life. 

It’s ok to say No. 

Be sure to set boundaries. 

Express your emotions and tell others when things are not acceptable. 

Communication is key.

Be assertive, if your boss is putting unreasonable demands on you then confront him in a calm, communicative manner. 

If your mother in law is being overbearing, stand up to her, chances are she will back down. 

Everyone doesn’t have to love you, or like you but when you stand up for yourself everyone will respect you.

4.  Do you walk away?

If you have a choice, leave a situation that is uncomfortable. 

If you approach a group of friends who are all gossiping, excuse yourself. 

If you phone up a friend who immediately starts complaining, don’t hesitate to say something came up and you have to run.

Another tactic would be to try to steer the conversation into a positive light. 

Make a joke, say something positive.  It’s amazing how negativity snowballs but also how positivity will too.

Related: How to Deal With Toxic People at Work

5.  Do you take responsibility?

You have chosen your friends, you have created relationships, you have decided to keep them around, you say yes to events, you might even partake in the gossip and complaining. 

Know your role and make efforts to better yourself, maybe that will encourage others to follow suit.

You can choose your reactions. 

I can’t say this enough. 

You have absolute power over your experience of any situation.  Stop placing blame and start showing compassion.

6.  Are you showing compassion? 

Do you try to understand where someone else might be coming from? 

Do you try to put yourself in their shoes? 

Everyone has a story worth tuning into. 

Before immediately judging someone of good or bad through your lens of conditioning, take the time to try to get to know that person.

If we feel compassion for someone we can change our reaction.  We can understand where behavior coming from and stop taking it personally.

7.  Are you learning from difficult people?

The core essence of every person is an intrinsically good being. 

That doesn’t mean that we won’t ever be annoyed, angry or upset with others, but it does mean that we don’t have to dwell on these traits. 

Are we imperfect, for sure, but are we intrinsically toxic, no! 

Try to remember that we are all doing the best we can with the tools we have been given.

We can take steps to change our experience, it can be as simple as that. 

Instead of projecting judgment and hate try to learn from that person, accept who they are and that they are not perfect either. 

Then try to learn and enhance your own spiritual growth.

I have a challenge for you, think about someone in your life who you deem as “toxic”. 

• Now I want you to envision walking into a room and think about how toxic this person is.  Do you feel the negative energy, the immediate cold front? 
• Now, I want you to envision loving that person, accepting their faults, finding at least one trait you admire and focus on that trait.  Do you feel the shift in energy immediately?  
• Practice this visualization before you come into contact with others, especially difficult people.

And when the delusions of others feel so overpowering you can’t possibly find a positive space, let it go and remember, do not take anything personally.

The only way to make change occur is to look inward.

Please leave a comment below about the ‘toxic’ people in your life.  Have you found freedom from toxic people? Do you think you can change your perceptions?