Success route 7 ways to stop listening to naysayers

1. Success route: 7 ways to stop listening to naysayers How you deal with naysayers determines whether or not you move forward and achieve success in life. Remember, if you let them win, you will become full of negativity soon. By Joy Rajat Das In life, no matter what you set out to do, there will be obstacles. Whatever goal you choose, there will be highs and lows along the path you undertake. But what will make things difficult is that there will be a crowd of people trying to stop you from reaching your goals. Who are they? They are what we call the naysayers. They are those people who will discourage you, talk you down and will always be cynical about everything you do. The chances

2. are you’ve already encountered a few of them in your journey. They can be anyone—your friends, colleagues and even your partner. You will find it tough to be around naysayers because irrespective of what you say, their response will always be a depressing ‘No’. From telling you what you shouldn’t do, and reminding you of your shortcomings to saying you are guaranteed to fail, naysayers will put doubts in your head. While you may think you are an adult and can deal with some criticism, the harsh truth is that they can demotivate you from going after your goals, dreams and ambitions. For instance, let’s say that you want to lose weight and eat healthy food. Naysayers will tell you that you can’t stick to a fitness regime. Or they will tell you that healthy food doesn’t taste good. Or if you want to pursue your passion of starting a business, they’ll tell you how bad the economy is and come up with several reasons why you should not chase your dream. Naysayers rarely have anything positive to contribute and what’s worse, you’ll meet them in every stage of your development. Hence, how you deal with them determines whether or not you achieve success in life. Remember, if you let them win, you will become full of negativity soon. Television personality and motivational speaker Daymond John once said, “Stop listening to the naysayers who might be saying that your goals are crazy or unachievable. Why would you let other people define your success?” So stop listening to naysayers and move forward in life with these tips that will help you stay on track.

3. Stay committed to your goals You need to stay focused on achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself as there will be people who constantly discourage you. They’ll tell you what you are trying to accomplish is impossible. They will focus more on the downsides—the risks and losses you may suffer. If you listen to them, you’ll have second thoughts, your self-confidence will take a beating and you may even give up. So safeguard your goals. Start by being selective about who you share your goals. Choose people who have opinions that are constructive. You can consider their concerns and make necessary alterations but do not change your mind. Stay firm on your decisions and pursue your goals with determination. Respond, don’t react Try not to engage in a discussion with naysayers. If you must, respond politely and try not to react to what they say. It can be difficult but this way, they won’t have any power over you. For instance, if they say, “you’ll never be able to own a business,” just say, “I can see why you’d think that, but I think differently.” Don’t try to make them see things from your point of view as you will simply waste your time. Remember, you don’t have to justify your dreams to anyone. Surround yourself with like-minded people Entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” The people you surround yourself with can either encourage you to push your limits and achieve your goals or curtail your progress and limit your growth.

4. So if you want to move up the ladder of success and growth, be around those who brim with confidence and positivity. Find like-minded individuals to spend your valuable time with. And if possible, remove the naysayers from your circle. Doing so will cut the negativity from your life and give you the required motivation to pursue your dreams. Partake in activities that bring joy into your life Another way to not get distracted or affected by naysayers is to participate in activities that bring joy to you. It could be anything from gardening, listening to your favourite music to spending time with friends and family. These simple activities can negate the influence of naysayers by keeping you occupied. Additionally, you will learn to use your time doing something of value instead of spending it on a naysayer. You will also realise how great it is to do something that you love. A healthy and happy mind will further motivate you to chase your dreams. Check-in on the successes and achievements of naysayers Ideally, one shouldn’t take advice from those who are lagging in life. Think about it, you wouldn’t take advice on how to be confident from someone who has low self-esteem. Or you wouldn’t take lessons on writing from someone who doesn’t even read. So if you find someone opining about your life, check-in on their past successes and achievements. Listen to what they suggest only if they have achieved something in life. If not, it’s best to ignore it and move on. Keep yourself motivated

5. How do you keep yourself motivated to pursue your goals when you are constantly hearing voices that discourage and distract you from putting in the work? A good way to do that is to remind yourself from time to time why you started pursuing them in the first place. Maintaining a diary can help you—as you’ll be able to flip back to entries from a few weeks or months earlier and see where you started from. Once you realise what you are capable of and what you have achieved, you will be able to silence the voices criticising your work. Focus on self-development When you come across someone who doesn’t like the way you do things, don’t give them your attention. Remember, everyone’s got opinions and most of them are formed on personal experiences and meagre information. Instead, keep your focus on improving your existing skills and learning new ones. You will grow as a person and become strong enough to ignore the criticism. Like American author, Christian D Larson says, “Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.” Naysayers have a lot to say about why you shouldn’t do something. But it is your job to know why you should do it and stay on track. Learn to keep such negative influencers at bay.