It is said that you become average of 5 people you spend your time with! So why not choose productive, happy and optimistic people?

Choosing  friends  in life is simple! And even deserting them when they become toxic or add on to your stress levels. However, this becomes next to impossible in case of family members. Neither can you disown your toxic family members nor can you afford to get in the swamp of negativity and lose your peace of mind!

It is difficult to change someone else’s behavior towards you but you can control your actions. You can always fix something which is hampering your peace of mind.

Here I am not saying this is easy, but definitely this is not impossible! Rising beyond this negativity will help you to rise ahead in your life. Always remember “a lion doesn’t lose his sleep over the opinion of a sheep.”

Handling toxic family members is a tricky job. I always recommend these five effective ways to deal with them:

1) Create boundaries

Creating boundaries is the simplest and easiest way to distance yourself from toxic people. This keeps you as well as the other person restricted within the limits.

Let your family members know that you will not allow yourself to dance in their tune; If they want a relationship with you, they will have to live within your boundaries and not go beyond the red line.

2) Take a stand for yourself

It has been aptly said “Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”

Don’t fear about losing negative people. Stand for your own peace!  In order to deal with your toxic family members, you need to understand that not everyone in your family can be accountable and you cannot lean on everyone for support during your grey days.

If you are being mistreated about something make sure you respond and discourage the treatment in an assertive way. Fighting is not necessary but making your point clear by strictly adhering to your firm stand is very essential as this sends a very strong signal to the opponent.

Don’t take the toxic behavior too personally

Being over emotional, irritated and resentful wont help you in coming out of the manipulation, drama and the negative environment.

What people say and do is the reflection of their character. Do not sink to their levels in order to defeat them. Never let anyone dull your sparkle. Never allow yourself to be too much perturbed by someone’s behavior. If  you are doing this, you are giving away the keys to your happiness or handling over your life’s remote control to them.

Don’t try to fix the difficult person

The moment you accept the person with his/her vices, suddenly life becomes more happier and lighter. There is a universal rule that acceptance eases the suffering.

Rather than changing a person let us focus on understanding that the person will never change. This will kill all the false hopes and you will be mentally prepared for all the challenges you will have to face ahead.

Forgive and walk away

Forgiveness is actually divine once you adopt it in its true sense. They are right when they say your grudge lives longer than you. Forgive them not because they seek it but you require peace of mind.

With toxic people in the family, things never become a cakewalk but your attitude and the way you deal with it makes all the difference. Your life depends how you tackle all the problems. Rather than being angry about such toxic elements try to channelize your energy in doing something constructive, practising a new art or starting a creative venture. Trust me when you start doing that you wont even bother about these nut heads and you will smile the same way the way I am smiling while writing this article.