No matter what you’d like to think, we all need friends and company. A happy life in the company of some genuine friends, that’s what exactly, fits my perception. Someone to share those little happy moments with, someone to cherish all your successes with and a shoulder to lean on, when you are down. Research has revealed that lack of companionship can have a hazardous impact on your health, almost similar to the effects of smoking. 


But the thing is, there are a lot of negative people around here. Their negativity is contagious, and it can suck you up into darkness. They can slow down your progress and derail you from your chosen track. You need to get rid of them before they engulf you into their own dark sphere of despair.  

So, how to spot these negative people? How can you distinguish between constructive and destructive criticism? How to separate the bad eggs from the good ones? Here are some tell-tale signs that can help you identify such negative blobs of despair:

They are always pessimistic

They always manage to point out some negative aspects of even the best of things. They never see the brighter side of life. Negative people rarely see the happier side of things, and nothing can cheer them up. They rarely envision a positive outcome or success. They always think that everything is going to go wrong.

They are always complaining

If it’s sunny outside, they will complain how dry the weather is, hot and sweaty they are. And if it’s raining, they will mop all day. All they seem to do is to whine about anything and everything. Their spouse/partner, gas prices, workplace, friends, weather, parties, everything disappoints them literally EVERY SINGLE THING. They have this inner belief that everything is competing against them and they bring it down by whining and complaining about it.

They don’t like to experiment

They rarely try new things. They never think outside the box to bring something new to the table. Whatever the project or experiment is, they sort of pre-decide that it’s going to be a whack and don’t even give it a try.

They keep worrying

These people, they are always worried. Even when everything is going just fine, they would worry about petty things.

They haven’t achieved much in life

Although it might sound a bit harsh, it is the plain blunt truth. They always seem to blame other things and people for their failure. They never really try much because they are always anticipating failure. Usually people don’t like to work with them either, because well, let’s face it: who would want to be around them anyway?

They haven’t envisioned their future

It is human nature to take time to figure things out, to experiment a little before finding their career path. But negative people, they don’t really have any significant plans, goals or dreams. They harm themselves more than they harm others. They are always hopeless, never expect any positive outcome, and always think that the said project is going to fail. So, as a result they don’t try to pour their heart or sincere hard work into anything.

They seem to know about everything but they haven’t really experienced much

They can give you a list of everything that is wrong with everything, but they have not been a part of anything. It is because they spend all their time and energy thinking about the negative aspects, they don’t get to have any life experiences at all.

They compliment you, but not really

Their compliments are always followed by ‘but’. Anyone can give compliments but negative people can’t. They are just not satisfied with anything. No matter how hard you tried to arrange an event, no matter how great it is, they always seem to find something negative about it and make sure to highlight those negative features.

They suck all your energy & good vibes

When you are surrounded by such negative bunch, you too, feel their despair and hopelessness. Like usually, you are upbeat and happy person but when you spend time with them you feel like life is useless, everything is wrong with the world and you are a failure. You see there, what they did to you? They sucked you right into their black hole of anxiety. That is why you need to stay away from them.

They are always criticizing things

Negative people are always criticizing, it can be anything, the government, current issues, workplace, and even you. Criticism is constructive and destructive. You should hear such criticism, which intends to bring out the best in you. Not the one which is just pointing towards your flaws and highlighting them over and over again. Their motive is to bring you down and to stunt your progress.

They rarely rejoice with you

When you achieve something, they always point out the flaws and try to bring you down. They are secretly envious or even jealous of you. They can’t see anyone happy or successful and try to bring them down by mopping and pointing out flaws in their achievements.  

They never stand up for anything

They always against everything. They don’t have any real interests. They don’t support any cause, they just stand in the way of progress.

They want you to change yourself

If you are close to them, they always want you to change. It doesn’t matter how hard you try to please them, they always find a mistake. They don’t accept you for who you are; rather they try to change you. And if you try to change for them, they complain that you are a changed person. There is no way to win them over.

They live in the past

They hate everything about the present; they have no plans for future whatsoever. They are always comparing you to their friends they used to have in the past and pointing out your shortcomings out loud.

Negativity is a part of who they are. It is a pattern they have followed their whole life. Even if you want to help them, you can’t unless they do it themselves. So it is better spot them, cut them out and kick them off before you become a mop like them.