7 Ways to Deal With Negative People

“You don’t owe everyone your time and energy. It can be very reasonable, and even responsible, to set boundaries with certain people.”

Do you deal with negative people in your life? It can be so draining to handle negativity, but we all run into people like this from time to time. This week, Danielle shares 7 ideas for ways to handle negative people:

Be confident. If you have prayerfully and carefully decided something, don't let someone else’s negativity derail you.

Listen. Sometimes, a negative person just needs to vent. Perhaps they just want a sympathetic ear.

Guard your time. You don’t owe everyone your time and energy. You can set some limits on how much time you spend with a negative person.

Don’t be reactive. Do your best to stay calm and not emotional with a negative person. Resist the temptation to jump in and argue.

Set boundaries. You can limit the amount of time and energy you give people, but also which topics you will talk with them about. You might even need to cut ties with some people.

Ask questions. Ask things like “Can you explain that?” or “Why do you feel that way?” to help the person examine how they are really feeling in an honest way.

Examine yourself. Are you a negative person? What are your habits of communication?

Bring this to prayer and ask God to help you grow.

At the end of the show, Danielle answers a question from Julie who wants to go back to confession but is finding it hard to do.

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