Life's too short to worry about the haters

If there's something we can agree on, it's that haters lurk in our midst.

Whether it's at work or in school, will always be someone who doesn't take kindly to something about us.

Maybe it's our gift for gab, our age, our impressive academic credentials, our BMW, or our ever-expanding circle of friends.

And the funny thing is that some of these people secretly admire and look up to us, even though they would never admit it.

But rather than worry about the jealous and envious -- whom many would regard as haters -- we should instead focus on the people who bring joy into our lives.

The ones who respect and cheer us on. The people who hold no ill will toward us.

The sad thing is that it isn't always easy to tell who likes us and who doesn't because, as pointed out in earlier entries, some people are, well, masters at faking it.

And even if you know that, say, Joe your co-worker isn't your biggest fan, are you really going to quit your job over it?

People bother us only if we allow them to.

No one says we have to question why they dislike us. As a matter of fact, we may never quite get to the bottom of it, so it's all a waste of time and brain cells.

Are we going to let haters get in the way of our happiness?

Are we going to live our lives any differently merely because these people take exception to something we say or do?

Absolutely not!

If people have an issue with us, they don't have to talk to or think about us. Heck, they don't even have to be in the same room as us -- or even in our lives, really -- if they don't want to!

Keep doing what you're doing, even if it ruffles a few feathers.

If you're happy with yourself and your life, that's what ultimately counts.

If someone has a problem with you, they can do the right thing and address it in private rather than keeping it bottled up inside. (Even worse is when they decide to talk behind your back, but that's the subject for a different post.)

No matter what, we'll never be able to please everyone. So we might as well do what satisfies us. No one gets to decide how we live our lives but us.

Let them hate. It only means you're doing something right. You don't need any more negativity in your life.

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