3 Tips for Dealing With Negative People in Your Family

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

I was recently a part of a teleseminar that featured Lisa Nichols, a self proclaimed “Non-Negotiable Change Agent.” Lisa is well known for her part in the movie “The Secret” and has authored books like “No Matter What” and I absolutely LOVE her! There’s just something about her that speaks directly to my soul. During her talk, Lisa gave some tips on dealing with negative people in your family that I thought were rather poignant, given the fact that Thanksgiving is upon us! So, as you gather with your loved ones for this wonderful American holiday and perhaps encounter those who are nothing but negative about your business, keep these tips in mind.

1 – Stop Trying to Convert Them – Most of the time the people who are negative about your business are going to stay that way… nothing you can say is going to change that. They have their own ideas and beliefs about what you’re doing, so there is no use arguing and trying to convince them otherwise. Move to a place of acceptance and simply agree to disagree. Unless they’re abusive, these people can have their place in your life that is separate from your business partners, so stop trying to convert them.

2 – Find a Comfortable Distance – Now even though dealing with negative people in your family means that you should stop trying to convert them, it does NOT mean you should spend a lot of time with people who are negative about what you do and who you are aspiring to be. So, find a comfortable distance between you and them. It can be difficult to completely remove family members from your life unless you want to miss important holiday gatherings like Thanksgiving, so just find a comfortable distance. Be kind, courteous, and even compassionate with these people whenever possible because I firmly believe people are generally doing the best that they can at any given time. Keeping a comfortable distance, however, will ensure that their negativity doesn’t seep into your mind and hinder your progress over time.

3 – Never Let Them Steal Your Dreams – As Lisa would say, you have to have a “No Matter What!” mentality. The saying “misery loves company” is often true. People who are struggling and unhappy with their lives usually don’t like to see others happy and going after their dreams. You’ll notice that when you deal with these negative people, they always want to give you “reasons” why you shouldn’t do what you’re doing or they’ll list all the different ways you’re going to fail. Most of the time they’re just projecting their own misguided beliefs about themselves onto you, so don’t even entertain such talk. Choose not to listen to them and do not let the negative words seep in. Choose the success that lies in your future no matter what. Guard your dreams with your life and never let anyone steal them!

Those are just three wonderful tips I got from Lisa recently, so be sure to let me know what you think by leaving me a comment below. I also want to leave you with a final quote from Lisa: “Give yourself the gift of a light community.” That means, in addition to learning to cope with negative family members, don’t forget to also surround yourself with positive people and those who have aspirations as big as or bigger than your own. Happy Thanksgiving, my friend. Be blessed!