How to Ignore the Haters and the Naysayers

Critics, haters, naysayers. They’ll always be there. Anyone on the journey to success has them and must know how to remain motivated despite the discouragement and criticism. People project their insecurities and fears onto others and this is the driving force behind the negative behavior.

It’s hard to remain focused when chasing your dreams, even without having to deal with the naysayers who say things like, “You’ll never make enough money doing that.” or, “You better keep that as a hobby and get a real job that pays.” or, “You should be more realistic.”

What you should understand is that these people are telling you what they think about themselves, not you. So if they tell you that building your dream business is impossible, this is what they believe for themselves, not you. They’re simply projecting their own beliefs onto you, and you have nothing to do with it, really.

Here are five ways to ignore the naysayers and reach your goals.

1. Realize You Can’t Please All the People All the Time

When interacting with people and sharing your dreams, unfortunately, a few of them will be naysayers. Don’t take it personally. Many negative people are those you can never help anyway. They aren’t ready to do the work and they like blaming others for things that go wrong in their lives. You’ll achieve nothing if you try to convince them, so just let them go on with their lives.

2. Know Who You Are

If you know who you are, the negative comments won’t affect you. Know what your intentions are and what motivates you. When you are confident in who you are, it won’t matter what anyone else says. Those people don’t really know you, so don’t let them bring you down. When you’re 100% grounded in who you are, it’ll be easier to brush off the negative comments.

Related: Developing Rock Solid Confidence in your Abilities

3. Embrace Your Haters

Winston Churchill said, “Do you have enemies? Good, that means you have stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

This statement is true. When people disagree with you, it means you have the guts to do something that has true meaning in your life. Simply use your haters and naysayers to push yourself forward.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Many people who ignored me when I was starting my business years back are now calling me and asking for help”

Sounds familiar? So, if you’re just starting your journey towards building your business, be ready to deal with the haters along the way. This means you’re on the right path.

Look at them as rites of passage. Know they’re there to remind you that what you’re doing is admirable. More than anything, don’t lose focus.

4. Remove the Naysayers from Your Life

Naysayers are a shroud to life’s possibilities. Spending time with them will only cloud your dreams. Remove them from your life if possible, or reduce your contact with them. Whether the person is a friend, colleague, or family member, don’t keep giving them access to your time and space. Reduce the time you give them and find socially like-minded
people to surround yourself with instead. Sometimes it’s sad if the naysayers are your loved ones; it becomes hard to share your goals with them without being discouraged. Maybe they’re discouraging you because they don’t understand the larger possibilities of life.

By sticking to your goals, pursuing them, and succeeding, you’ll become an inspiration to them to think big and pursue their own goals too.

5. Tune Them Out

If someone is discouraging and giving you bad advice, walk away. Just because they have something to say doesn’t mean you have to take their advice.

As focused as you are on your goals, naysayers strongly believe in their views too. So there’s no need to seek affirmation or agreement from them about your plans.

Related: Start Your Day Right: 5 Morning Rituals of Successful Entrepreneurs

If they insist on voicing their disagreement, keep your response short and simple. Don’t fight back or try to explain your stance. Trust me – it’s a waste of time! They’ll only come up with more reasons to show why they’re right and you’re wrong, which will only frustrate you.

Whenever you get distracted by naysayers, it’s because you’ve lost focus. All you need to do is remember your goals. Go back to your core, that strategic plan and remember who you are and what you want to achieve. Think about your goals and ask yourself if it’s worth putting your goals on hold because of what the naysayers are saying to you. Don’t deny yourself the life you should live because of haters and naysayers.

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