Negative people usually don’t even realize this, but their goal in life is to drag you down to their level of misery, self-doubt, and pessimism.
They see life as an endless cycle of people getting one over on them and never have the guts to dare to dream. They want you as miserable as them.
I tell you this and yet I have a confession to make. Whilst I loathe negativity with a passion, my position in life means that some people will mistake me being realistic or providing constructive criticism with being negative. I believe that’s wholly inaccurate but literally my job is to pick holes in ideas and enforce standards, as well as protect business interests that have honed a pretty infallible gut feeling for cancerous people (what would be really amazing is if my gut on positive things was always right, sadly that’s definitely not the case!).
I believe in seeing the full picture, not telling someone “Yay! You can do it if you try!” because often effort is only one, albeit non-negotiable, part of the equation.
My job, and this filters through to everything that I do, is to tell it straight – “Yes, it can be done. But it’s going to take time and huge sacrifice. You’ve got to give up (insert fun activity here), you might have to wait years whilst still beating your head against a brick wall, and even then you may not have the ability”.
I feel the idea that going into things with eyes wide open as to the pitfalls is something that a lot of the internet generation seek to avoid because they are so frightened to hear doubting words. Telling the truth to someone is a lot harder than buttering them up – usually, the hard option in life, whatever it may be, is the road best travelled. But always find people who dare you to dream, who challenge you to be your best and who see life as an endless range of possibilities and adventures.
Negativity has no place in your life. Your friend who says “Why do you want to lose weight?” is no friend at all. Your friend who says “That sounds like fun! It’ll be a challenge but, I’m up for it with you!” – they’re the keepers.