How To Deal With With Negative People

How do I not let someone’s negative comments discourage me?

If you plan to quit your job to start a business, trust me, learning to deal with negative people will be a skill you must develop and constantly refine.

Consider this blog to be your blueprint as to how to create a “hater game plan.”

Get A Negative People Mantra

1.  To deal with negative people, you must find a quote, bible verse, statement, or a “negative people mantra” to say to yourself when dealing with negative people. You start to believe anything you hear long enough, so you need to feed your mind to protect it.

My favorite verses for dealing with negative people are in Ephesians 6:10-18. This passage is about putting on the Armor of God. I say this verse to myself daily, replacing the word “you” with “I” so it feels more personal.

My go-to favorite “hater” quote is often cited by one of my girl crushes, Brené Brown, from Teddy Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; 
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, 
or 
where the doer of deeds could have done them better. 
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, 
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; 
who strives valiantly; 
who errs, who comes short again and again, 
because 
there is no effort without error and shortcoming; 
but 
who does actually strive to do the deeds; 
who knows great enthusiasms, 
the great devotions; 
who spends himself in a worthy cause; 
who at the best knows, 
in the end, 
the triumph of high achievement, 
and 
who at the worst, 
if he fails, 
at least fails while daring greatly, 
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls 
who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Get A Battle Buddy

2. To fight a battle, even if it’s between your ears, you need a battle buddy.  Your battle buddy is a person with a similar goal that can “speak” the language and emotions of your season of life.

Your battle buddy does not have to be someone local; I found battle buddies through private Facebook groups. Consider joining a group of people working towards your goal. As a bonus, you may find someone who lives nearby. 

Get A Mentor

3. Find someone who is a season of life ahead of you.  This is a short enough time frame, so the person remembers how you now feel, but long enough, so they had time to evaluate their own experience. Your mentor can help you see things you can’t see when you are knee-deep in your season and give you perspective and guidance.

A mentor can save you from yourself. I don’t know about all of you, but I have an amazing ability to rationalize the most irrational thoughts. (My nice way of saying I have thoughts that fell straight off the stupid truck.).

My mentor loved me enough to tell me how crazy my ideas were and save me from what would have been bad decisions.

With a mantra, battle buddy, and mentor, you can plow through negativity to live a life of passion and impact.