There are some good reasons to get rid of pessimistic friends. Of course you don’t want to get rid of a friend that is just having a bad day or going through a difficult time. Everyone goes through that from time to time. But if your friend is always seeing the negative side of life, it may be time to consider these reasons to get rid of pessimistic friends.
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1. They Can Bring You down
Pessimistic friends can bring you down. You can be going along having a great day and their pessimistic attitude kills it. This can steal the good mood from you. When you have a great day, you don’t want to lose it because someone is raining on your parade. This is one of the good reasons to get rid of pessimistic friends.
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The negativity of a pessimistic friend isn't just annoying—it can be contagious. Before you know it, their bleak perspective starts to tint your own outlook. It's like they've got a dark lens that they're constantly suggesting you look through, turning your bright skies gray. More than just putting a damper on your day, this type of negativity can sap your energy and leave you feeling drained, which is why keeping your distance might just keep your spirits lifted.
2. They Can Rub off on You
Sadly, the pessimistic attitude of others can rub off on you. This is true of whatever your friend’s personality traits are. You can’t help but pick up on a little of their personality if you spend a lot of time together. For this reason, it’s good to be careful about whom you choose as your friends. Choosing friends with good personality traits can be a good influence in your life.
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3. They Expect You to Cheer Them up
A pessimistic friend can get in the habit of expecting you to cheer them up. Of course this is what friends are for but if you have a pessimistic friend, you know this is an almost everyday thing. Friendship should be a relationship where you both give and take. Pessimistic friends can just be takers. This can steal your own joy over time.
4. They Aren’t Happy for You
Pessimistic friends sometimes struggle with being happy for you when something good happens in your life. They may be so stuck in their cycle of negativity that they can’t come up with a positive response when you share happy news. They may also start listing all of the negatives that could accompany whatever good thing happened for you. No one needs that. You deserve friends that are happy for you when you’re happy.
5. You Don’t Need That Dark Cloud over Your Life
Everyone has a day or two where they may be a little pessimistic. You can allow your friends that. But if your friend is constantly pessimistic, you may feel as if they always bring a dark cloud over your day. If you feel that way, it may be wise to find some more optimistic friends. You can even keep your pessimistic friend but perhaps spend a little less time with them.
6. You May Be Working on Becoming Optimistic
Maybe you’ve made it a goal to work on becoming optimistic in your own life. This is a great goal to have. There are many benefits of being an optimistic person, including having better health. Your pessimistic friends can really kill the optimistic outlook that you have worked so hard to have. If this is the case, it might be the time to find some different friends.
7. You Need Positivity
An optimistic friend is going to spread optimism into your life. A pessimistic friend is going to spread pessimism into your life. Maybe you can be a friend to someone who is pessimistic and help them out. But you don’t want to spend time with that friend only. If you do, their pessimistic attitude is going to spill over into your life, which isn’t a good thing.
These are some reasons you may need to get rid of your pessimistic friends. Have you ever had a pessimistic friend? How did you deal with that?
Comments
Wwwweewww: It depends on the pessimist. Some people are just unnecessarily pessimistic ALL THE TIME, and the ones that let that off ON YOU and on everyone else constantly, and take everything too seriously, those are the ones you drop ASAP. As soon as i left that person, i became SO, SO, SO much happier. However, i also have a pessimistic friend who i love to bits, and her negativity does not affect my positivity at all. She has genuine things that can be hard to not be negative about, but she definently doesn't have a positive outlook. The other friend was so pessimistic that she treated everything and everyONE like shit. so yeah, depends on the pessimist. But if you are on this article from searching for it, then its likely that you are the pessimistic friend or your pessimistic friend is making you somewhat unhappy. If you don;t like them, you dont have to deal with them, the average life is only about 600,000 hours, dont waste it on people that have made any ammount of those hours worse by being negative.
Tamara: These are basically all the same one or two reasons, said in different ways over and over again. You're right, but it could've been said in many fewer words. Not to be a pessimist. ;)
Hayley: I personally don't agree either but that's just me. Sometimes they may be negative but they might also be very giving and kind
Shelby: This article is so accurate. I had a very pessimistic friend last year and one day we decided that being friends was more hurtful than helpful and ever since we stopped being friends I have felt a huge weight lifted off of my shoulder. It's terrible when another persons pessimism affects others.
Cindee: I don't agree with your article.
Timi: I strongly disagree with this I have a friend who's pessimistic but always supports me. She has a tough time with personal issues but she always smiles when she's with me and tries her best to smile.
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