Move over Buffy, there is a new vampire hunter in town! Since we all know I have super powers, it will come as no shock to you that I vanquish Energy Vampires…from my life. I discovered that I didn’t like who I was when I was with people who were always negative or critical of me or my needs. I came away from these interactions feeling utterly drained and sucked dry. At the time, I didn’t know that I had a choice to just not engage with them. My superpower was just to walk away and POOF! they were gone.
Ok…now what? I am like a dried up raisin, not knowing who I am or what I need to fill me up. Slowly, as I became more clear of who I was again, people came into my life who supported my thoughts and ideas. Because they were successful themselves, their belief in me added a layer of validity to my ideas; thereby, helping to re-build and reconstitute my self-esteem and self worth.
This chapter is all about release the negative people in your life that pull you down and seek out those that will help lift you up. Who are the 5 people you spend the most time with and how do they affect you: positively or negatively? I know who in my life drains my soul and I have had to put up boundaries to protect myself. I know my limits of interactions, and how many toxic people I can handle at one time. There is no avoiding the Toxic people in your life, but you can proactively develop methods to become more mindful of yourself in their presence. I can handle one toxic person in a group setting but not more than one. It becomes too draining to maintain multiple fronts. I also know who to go to help ground me and help me re-connect with who I am if I have lost my footing.
Surround yourself with success and success will find you. Awareness is key. Your mission, if you choose to accept it is to seek out and eliminate the energy vampires from you life. When you learn to recognize who they are and walk away from engagement, you become indestructible!