Have you heard the saying, “show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are?” Its a quote that has always intrigued me because I think what its saying is, “who you choose to associate with, shows your true nature more than it does theirs.”
Anyone who is or has tried to become more positive, knows that spending time with negative or toxic people can not only be draining, but also detrimental — if people are always bringing us down, how can we ever hope to be more positive and happy?
I’ve read many iterations of “_______ types of people you should avoid” (fill in the number). We’ve pulled from some of those to create this list of 10 types of people you may really want to avoid:
The liar: if they lie to their friends, they lie to everyone and this makes trust almost impossible.
The constant complainer: they often suck the life out of a room, which can make friendship difficult to maintain.
The boaster: these people have a pathological need to always outdo everyone…including their closest friends.
The gossip: if they talk to you about other people, they’re talking to other people about you.
The user: the typical fair weather friend, they only show up when they want something.
The manipulator: they’re the user, complainer and envier all wrapped up in one.
The narcissist: it will never be about you.
The envier: jealousy is toxic and this friend probably will never celebrate your successes.
The enabler: friends encourage your best self…enablers do the opposite.
The criticizer: friends support and encourage — a friend who always criticizes is no friend.
Friends are an incredible blessing. Hopefully you don’t have anyone in your life like the ones in the list above. Positivity is so important and that means having to look at who we are associating with and deciding if its a mutually beneficial relationship.
