Toxic people

At some stage in our lives we come across toxic people, and believe me they exist everywhere. They exist in families, amongst friends and also among colleagues.

Toxic people tend to hurt those around them with their words and behaviours, often unintentionally but sometimes on purpose. The reason is often that they may feel bad about themselves or their circumstances and in turn make people around them feel bad too.

Toxic behaviours has devastating effects on relationships, it hinders growth on both personal and professional levels and negatively impacts the well-being of the toxic person and others around him/her. For long-term happiness and success it is important for the toxic person to recognize when they are behaving negatively, and consciously shift their mind-set to a more positive one.

None of us are immune to occasional toxic mood swings. At some stage we have acted in ways that are toxic and damaging to others, and it is important to be aware of such occurrences and handle it appropriately.

Here are a few guidelines to recognize negative behaviour and dealing with it:

• Let go of negativity.
• Take control of your emotions, instead of exploding in anger or tears over the smallest things. When you feel you want to yell at people, take a step back and think about how you feel and whether you think yelling at the person would be the best solution.
• Never compare your life journey with anyone else's – we’re all here for our own unique purposes.
• Try to avoid taking everything personally. Not everything being said or happening around you, is aimed at you as a person.

We all have unhealthy personalities buried deep down and it has the potential to sneak up sometimes. Awareness is very important, recognize the behaviour and stop it from taking over.

Think about ways where you can improve or how to better handle toxic people. Stay away from people who do you more harm than good or those who fill your life with stress. Start today and build positive behaviour into your life.