Beware of Toxic People

Relationships are the currency of the wealthy.

In my Rich Habits Study, I learned that one of the most important traits of self-made millionaires was the habit of forging long-term relationships with other success-minded people.

If you follow me, you know I spend a great deal of time advocating the need to remove toxic people from your social networks. Toxic people drag you down and distract you from the pursuit of your dreams and your goals.

But what does it mean to be toxic? Toxic people live in a world of negativity. They expose their negativity through their words, their social media posts, their emails or their actions:

• Toxic people are demeaning – They belittle those they disagree with.
• Toxic people believe their opinions are superior to your opinions – If your opinions differ from the opinions of a toxic person, they ridicule you and try to make you feel inferior or inadequate.
• Toxic people are ideologues – They have beliefs and ideologies that they wish to impose upon you. They don’t respect your beliefs or ideologies.
• Toxic people are closed-minded – They close their minds to contrary thoughts, ideas, opinions and facts.
• Toxic people are Fault Finders – They seek, and thus find, fault in others.
• Toxic people are perpetually agitated – Their emotional state is one-sided – agitated or angry.
• Toxic people are unfiltered – They say whatever is on their mind, irrespective of the damage that might do to their relationships.
• Toxic people struggle with relationships – Toxic people are constantly damaging or destroying relationships. They have few long-term relationships.
• Toxic people are in constant turmoil – Toxic people struggle financially, struggle with relationships, struggle with their jobs, struggle with their clients or customers.
• Toxic people are problem seekers – They look for problems in everything.
• Toxic people are pessimists – They see the bad in situations and in life.
• Toxic people are Mistake Finders – Toxic people are vigilant in finding and pointing out the mistakes of others.
• Toxic people are sarcastic – They use sarcasm, blanketed inside humor, as a means of putting you down.
• Toxic people are gadflies – They provoke others, behind your back, and cause problems for you with other people.
• Toxic people are selfish – They put themselves first, always.
• Toxic people are judgemental – They believe they are superior and look down on others.
• Toxic people are gossipers – They will talk badly about you behind your back.
• Toxic people lie and are untrustworthy – They struggle with the truth.
• Toxic people are disloyal – Toxic people will turn their back on you in a time of need or unexpectedly stab you in the back.

Having one or two of these toxic habits does make someone toxic. Some very successful, upbeat people in my study had toxic habits. The difference was they did not have many toxic habits or their good habits, by far, outweighed their toxic habits.

The important point is awareness. Have your antenna up. Know what to look for. It takes time for most individuals to reveal their toxic habits. But once they do, disengage with them. Eliminate them from your life. Toxic people have deep-seated problems that become your problems if you allow them to be a part of your life. Toxic people will distract you from your pursuit of success. They will drag you down emotionally. They are wrenches, potholes and obstacles along your path towards success.

When you make a habit of eliminating toxic people from your life, your life will improve. Your mindset will shift from negative to positive. You will have fewer problems and less stress.

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