How to Deal With Toxic People: 6 Strategies

Toxic people are a part of our everyday reality. We all come across such people at some point of time in our life. These people can exist in our lives in the form of a colleague, a close relative, a friend or a boss, etc.

The dilemma is that while some of these toxic people are around for a small time, others are there to stay. In that scenario, it becomes important to master the ways of dealing with such toxic people.

During my career from being an employee to being the CEO of ProofHub, I have been constantly becoming better at handling toxic people.

I am sharing some of the tips on how successful people handle toxic people.

1. Choose Your Battles Wisely

Toxic people will continue defying logic. Fighting every battle to correct them can drain you emotionally and cause severe damage. So, learn to choose your battles wisely. Do not succumb to petty instigations and wait for the right time to take your stand.

2. Cultivate Awareness About Your Emotions

Awareness is important in order to maintain an emotional distance from such people. You should be able to recognize when someone is pushing your buttons. Sometimes you might need to regroup yourself before you react and that’s completely ok. When you are aware that things are being done to elicit responses from you, just sit back calmly and their toxicity will backfire on them.

3. Rise above toxicity

The best way to rise above toxicity is to not let it overwhelm you. When irrational things are said or done, they overwhelm us. But it is our choice to succumb to them or not. The solution is to focus only on facts and not on emotional stuff. So, even if you are having a confrontation, only talk about facts.

4. Do not fall into negative self-talk trap

Sometimes, while dealing with negativity and toxic behavior, we tend to indulge in negative self-talk. The reason is that the uneasiness of the situation makes us highly self-critical. But, negative self-talk is self- defeating and unnecessary. However, positive self-talk can help us improve the situation and look past it without it affecting us.

5. Forgive but do not forget

When I say forgive, I mean free yourself from any malice for the other person. But you have to keep your guards on. When you understand the core personality of a toxic person, you have to maintain a safe distance from them. You can let go of their toxicity but at the same time decide to not give them any chances to disturb you again.

6. Talk with your support system

While we may have toxic people around us, we also have those who love, support and understand us. Our support system can help us put our perspective in place. So, whenever you are dealing with any sort of negative or toxic elements, talk to a dear one. Discuss the situation openly and honestly with a family member or friend, this kind of sharing will relieve the stress and bring a fresh perspective on how to handle toxic people.

I would like to know in the comments how you keep toxicity at bay and which of these tips you really found useful? 

Also read:

1.The Power of 5-Hour Rule

2. Everything Comes to Him Who Hustles While He Waits

3. Bill Gates’ One Simple Rule to Success

Author Bio:

Sandeep Kashyap is the Founder and CEO of ProofHub — a leading project management software. He’s one person always on a lookout for innovative ideas about filling the communication gap between groups, teams, and organisations. You’ll find him saying, “Let’s go!” instead of “Go!” many times a day. That’s what makes him write about leadership in a way people are inspired to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. For more inspirational articles follow him on Linkedin.