Introduction
It’s not selfish or a sign of weakness to distance
yourself or walk away from those who constantly
bring down your vibe. Life is about balance. It’s
about spreading kindness, but it’s also about not
letting anyone take that kindness away from you.
Do you think it’s selfish to put yourself first? Depending on the context, it
can
be selfish to think of yourself and not others. For example,
if a pie is cut into
eight equal pieces and there are eight hungry people in the room, it would be
selfish of you to take two pieces.
However, it’s often important to put yourself first. You have a lot of energy to
give, but you must save some of that energy for yourself. You came into this
world alone and you’ll leave on your own. Your longest
relationship in life is
with yourself. Only when you manage this relationship well can you manage
your relationships with others.
Sadly, we must accept that even though someone means well, they may
repeatedly inflict pain on our souls without considering
the effect that their
actions and words are having on us. Ideally, we want to be in a place where our
mood doesn’t shift because of someone else’s behaviour, but only the most
spiritually evolved among us are able to do this – to demonstrate unconditional,
ongoing love in spite of others’ actions towards them. Most of us still have a
long way to go before we ascend into states of
consciousness high enough to
allow us to love all people without condition or expectation.
If we’re not spiritually evolved individuals, then constant interaction with toxic
people can suck the energy out of us, which in time will make us feel drained.
It is much easier to see the good in life
when you are around positive people.
Your personal growth is an ongoing process and it can take a long time to get to
a place where you’re unaffected by other people’s behaviour.
So sometimes you have to cut out those people who continuously cut you.
They’re venomous and restrict your progress. After all, it’s hard to function, not
to mention crack a smile, when someone keeps feeding you poison. Think of a
plant: if you keep it under toxic conditions, it can’t grow and will soon start to
wither. But, under the right conditions, it’ll thrive and grow into something
beautiful. Once it becomes big and strong, it’s hard to destroy.
People can be toxic, too. A toxic person might
be someone who criticizes
everything you do; expects too much; lacks respect; shows very little support.
They might ridicule, neglect,
physically abuse, manipulate and belittle you.
These people are usually unwilling to confront their toxic actions and make
changes.
So when you find yourself around people who are toxic towards you, your inner
peace will be lost and you’ll be more likely to pass on the pain this causes you to
others. This begs the question: Is it selfish to think of ourselves here, or is it
selfish of them to expect that we should be okay with it?
Ending a toxic relationship
can be incredibly difficult; it’s hard to break free
from those close to you, even if they’re hurting you. But once you remove those
people from your life, you make way for a river of positivity to flow. You’ll
have time and space for introspection,
healing and growth, and like the plant,
you too will become strong.