Negativity can be quite draining and is almost always toxic. The moment you sense someone is trying to pull you into an area you don't belong, walk away. If you are surrounded by negative energy, below are 5 strategies that you can use to protect yourself.

Don’t feed into the drama! It’s so easy to get caught up into someone else’s mess. We all know at least one person who loves to feed off of senseless drama. This is when you’ll need to take a page from Michelle Obama; when they go low, you will need to go high. Drama is inherently childish and deserves to be ignored the same way you would a child having a temper tantrum.

Respond (if you must), but don't react. This isn't always easy! If you are anything like me, you’ll feel the urge to respond negatively. Much of our lives are spent reacting to others and you want to choose the best course of action before you reply. When you feed off of your emotions your gut reaction will speak on your behalf. This can unfortunately make matters worse. Don’t respond immediately, pause and consider the most compassionate reply.

Set Boundaries! Negative people can definitely deplete your energy so this requires boundary clarification. This means you may have to limit your contact and nurture your time, energy and emotions. You can’t assume negative people know how you want to be treated. This is why you are in control of the energy and people you want to be surrounded by.

Focus on the solution and not the problem. The solution is doing what is best for you. This simply means you don't focus on the negativity that this person brings, rather focus on how you will handle them from here on out.

Don’t take everything personal. Sometimes it is less about you and more about them. Negative people will reflect their own life experience on you. How they feel about themselves are oftentimes displayed in how they treat you. Don't fall for it and don't get emotionally involved in their chaos.

xoxo Monique Chantel Johnson