When I was younger, my best friend Farrah used to say to me: “Mariam, if I’m sitting somewhere I don’t feel comfortable or with people who are bringing me down with bad energy, I just get up and leave.” At the time, I remember thinking, how rude. Fast forward a few years later, that’s all I ever do.
Energy is big, real and it doesn’t lie. When someone is in a bad or angry mood and walks into the office, the energy shifts. You feel the tensions rising and it can instantly bring everyone else down. It works the other way too; a happy and cheerful person can uplift a room full of grumpy tired people at the office and flip their work day around.
This can happen a lot. If you’re not conscious of the fact that it’s happening, you become an easy target, swaying left and right according to other people’s emotions. It happens and it happens often. Think back to a conversation you’ve had with a coworker who was really upset and telling you about all the horrible and dramatic things occurring in their life. You may have started the conversation in a good mood, but as you both think about the problem and feel the emotions of the situation, your mood ultimately shifts, whether you like it or not.
Okay, now what if you were aware of all this energy business and had the power to control it? If you are conscious that this is occurring, you then have the power to become the stronger positive influence and deflect negative energy so you can keep your energy high and mighty.
We all give off energy and vibrations and they depend on our predominant thoughts and feelings. Happy thoughts and good feelings create high, positive energy and sad/angry thoughts and bad feelings create low, negative energy. When you live on auto-pilot, unaware of people’s effect on each other’s energy, you are much more easily influenced and more susceptible to being negatively affected. To stop yourself from being at the mercy of other people’s energy, learn self-awareness and instantly catch yourself when your mood starts to change. It’s already hard enough to uplift yourself when you’re miserable, so don’t let other people drag you down. Alert yourself, and focus strongly on thoughts that make you feel good.
A lot of people have friends they love but know are so damn negative and dramatic. Thank God I don’t have people like that in my life anymore because I cut the ropes and screamed sayonara into the sunset. I can’t stand being around people that complain or bring others down just for the sake of it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as dramatic and cinematic as they come but I honestly always make sure I’m laughing at my misfortunes and making those around me laugh as well. Farrah also taught me that, laughing at things that caused me any mental disturbance and making it better.
If you feel like you’re sitting with people who bring you down, you know what? Get up and leave. If you’re at an outing and you don’t like the vibes, guess what? Get up and leave. You have the option to control what you let in. Surround yourself with people that uplift and inspire you and make you feel good about being alive. We’re here for a good time, not a long time, so have a good time.
