3 Ways to Avoid Negative Relationships
Oct 27, 2025 2:01 pm
3 WAYS TO AVOID NEGATIVE RELATIONSHIPS
We all can allow negative relationships into our lives. I’ve discovered the best way to avoid them is to prevent them from becoming part of your life.
In this piece, I want to give you three ways to avoid negative relationships so they don’t hinder any progress you want to make in life.
DON’T SHRINK
When someone negative comes around you, instead of speaking about your values or pursuing your dreams, you shrink and let them latch onto you. I remember being in college and playing basketball. We did all kinds of workouts.
One day a teammate said, “Gene, you’re working too hard. If you keep this up, coach will make us do more.”
He wanted me to shrink for his comfort. I almost did, but I told myself, “Gene, keep working hard. Keep pushing. Don’t give a mediocre effort just to make someone else comfortable.”
This is a strong principle to apply to your life when negative people want you to shirk, which can have a major effect on your ability to realize your goals and dreams.
They will want you to lower yourself to their level because they don’t want to work as hard, or they let their own dreams die because they lack the courage to pursue them.
This is why it’s very important not to shrink, so you can avoid allowing negative relationships to attach themselves to your life because you moved down to the level of their mediocrity.
DON’T DISREGARD YOUR PRINCIPLES
Don’t disregard your principles for the sake of acceptance. I was laid off in 2010 and it took about seven months before I could get another job. One day I was at a gym playing basketball and I met a guy who called himself Hollywood.
He asked, “What do you do for a living?” I said, “Right now I’m laid off.” He looked at me and said, “Oh, you’re one of them.” I asked, “What do you mean by that?”
He said, “You’re one of those people who’s laid off and looking for a job. You ain’t got no money in your pocket.”
I replied that I had a little money but was looking for work and asked if he knew of any opportunities.
He said, “When we’re done playing, meet me in the parking lot. I want to talk to you about an opportunity.”
When the game ended, he walked out to the parking lot. I walked out five minutes later, and he pulled up in a brand-new BMW, rolled down the window, and said, “You ready to talk about that opportunity?”
We started talking, and he began talking about selling drugs and, hoping to convince me, said that people called him Hollywood because he made “Hollywood money,” even though he wasn’t an actor.
No matter how much he tried to convince me, I had made up my mind that I would not abandon my principles for his acceptance.
I looked Hollywood in the eyes and said, “I made it out of the hood without selling drugs, and I’m not about to start today! I’d rather keep applying for jobs.” He said, “You are stupid,” then drove off.
Had I disregarded my principles and sold drugs for Hollywood, I would have allowed that negative relationship to enter my life.
By refusing to do so, I avoided it. This is what you must do if you want to avoid such relationships; stick to your principles rather than seek the acceptance or approval of others.
REJECT THEIR LIMITING BELIEFS
Negative people want you to align with them. When they hold negative, limiting beliefs about themselves and see you as ambitious, they will try to get you to adopt those beliefs.
When I was in the corporate world, I told a coworker I dreamed of starting my own business and becoming an author. She asked, “Gene, why do you want to do that? It’s stressful. My sister did the same thing and it ruined her—she went bankrupt and never reached her full potential. If you want to play it safe, stay at this job. You have great benefits and can retire here.”
Though I respectfully listened to her, I decided I would not adopt her negative, limiting beliefs. Instead I chose to believe in myself, to have faith in God, and to trust that I could make things happen. Because of that, today I’m living my dream.
Negative people can attach themselves to you if you let them. To keep them from holding you back, commit to your beliefs and your dreams. Believe in yourself and refuse to adopt their limitations. Doing so will help you avoid negative relationships.
CONCLUSION
Opportunities to allow negative relationships into your life will arise, and it’s up to you to avoid them. I’ve given you three ways to avoid negative relationships, and I encourage you to apply them in your life so you can reach your full potential because You Are WORTHY TO BE GREAT!
P.S. I know it’s very difficult to keep negative relationships out of your life. If you want to go deeper on how to develop the mindset and discipline not only to avoid negative relationships but also to pursue your dreams, I encourage you to get my premium ebook, WORTHY TO BE GREAT.
This book contains tools to help you master your emotions and self-discipline so you can build the confidence needed to remove negative influences from your life. Click the link below to get the premium ebook today.
