Everyone has a friend or coworker who constantly speaks badly about others or always complains about his work without actually proposing any solution. This situation can be really stressful in the long run. If you are not careful enough, this kind of people can even drag you down to their level. To better avoid unnecessary drama and learn how to deal with them, here you are some suggestions:

Set boundaries

Don’t force yourself to listen to what they are saying. The problem indeed is that if you keep on listening, their pessimism will affect your life and attitude. You will end up becoming yourself a pessimist. So try to keep your distance, reduce any contact to brief and polite conversations. You cannot control a pessimist, but you can decide whether to spend time with this person or not.

Keep them away

There’s nothing to gain from people who complain all day long. They can only bring problems, but they suggest no solutions. Your ideas will be rejected and criticized. Don’t deal with them unless you have no choice.

Choose your battle

Every time someone negative annoys you, don’t attack him, as this behavior can irritate other people and make them believe you are the bad guy. Just ignore negative comments and control your emotions. Don’t get into an argument unless it’s unavoidable, and even in that situation, it must be in order to make peace, not to aggravate the discord.

Don’t try to rationalize

You will only waste your time if you try to understand the reason of the negative comments. And your time is precious.  Don’t get emotionally involved in the problems of that friend or coworker who’s always in a bad mood. If you notice that that person is a pessimist, try an approach to solve the situation, arrange a meeting to talk about it. If that person’s negative attitude doesn’t change, maybe it’s time for you to get away from him.

Surround yourself with positive people

If you build a network of positive friends, acquaintances and professional contacts,  you will have somebody to rely on when confronting negative people. Sometimes we should just admit that we need some help to move forward. And this help can be found only in this precious network. Explain them your situation, maybe a new point a view will help you to move forward and solve problems. An impartial eye can often be very helpful in resolving conflicts with negative people.

Embrace positivity

Your happiness and well-being are too important to let somebody’s negative opinion or rude remarks put you down or affect the way you see yourself. Stay positive and start limiting the time you spend with negative people in your life. With a little bit of luck your positivity will keep those toxic people away and they will gradually disappear from your life.