4 Tips for Dealing with Unsupportive People
Post Updated: June 5, 2023
Have you ever dealt with unsupportive people? It’s bound to happen at some point in our lives.
When it comes to starting something new, such as a business, hobby, or in my case a new blog, it can be very exciting yet very nerve wrecking!
You want to tell the world about your new idea!
You’re so excited to share your vision for the future and the potential your idea has and then… people immediately shoot you down.
Here are 4 tips i’ve learned from experience when dealing with unsupportive people.
1. Don’t Take Anything Personal
Easier said than done I know! Especially when it comes to people you truly love and care about, but you really can’t take other people’s opinions of you to heart.
More times than not, their opinions are a reflection of themselves, NOT you!
If they tell you you can’t do something, it’s probably because they themselves most likely can’t do it.
People will even tell you loud and clear, “I could never do that” and then secretly hope that you won’t do it either.
One of the most annoying things I’ve experienced is being so excited about something that you share your thoughts with someone and instead of them being happy for you, they instantly have something negative to say.
And I’m not talking about constructive criticism.
I’m talking about people that just love to be negative.
“Are you sure that’s what you really want to do?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, it seems like a lot of work.”
“Why not just do something normal?”
Sound familiar?
In other words, they can’t do it, so you shouldn’t either.
They may sometimes speak from a place of genuine concern, but they also speak from a place of fear.
And lets be real, fear is often the biggest belief that holds us back from doing most things in life.
Constant negativity really can bring your spirits down.
But if we get so hung up on what other people think of us, we will never truly know our potential.
2. Other People’s Opinion of You are None of Your Business.
People are going to have an image created in their mind about you based on what they personally know about you or what they have heard from others.
However, some people won’t allow that version of you to grow as you evolve in real time.
This tends to upset a lot of people because they want you to stay the same.
That image they created in their mind has essentially been set in stone and nothing will change it no matter how much you grow and flourish as a person.
Let me tell you something though, this image that these unsupportive people create of you; first of all, it does NOT determine your worth, and second, it doesn’t matter!
“Those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind” easily applies.
The more you care about what other people think, the longer you’re going to stay stagnant as an individual.
But we can’t do it all alone, or at least we shouldn’t. At some point we do need other people to help us grow.
It’s part of life.
This sounds so cliche, but you really do need to surround yourself with people who have the same vision as you and genuinely support you.
3. Find Your Tribe
If you have a close circle of friends and family that really support you and your big ideas then that’s great!
Truth is not everyone has that, and sometimes, those closest to us are often the ones that envy us the most.
It’s this idea that people can’t be happy for you because you came from the same place they did and they are still stuck in the same place.
And then there’s jealousy.
I hate to say it but I think envy is one of the biggest reasons why people are unsupportive of others in general.
They are jealous of you and where you are in life because they are either no where near that or never will be not realizing that every one has a different path in life.
With that being said, you need to find supportive people who won’t be in secret competition with you.
The internet is a beautiful thing!
Social media has allowed us to make connections with people virtually anywhere in the world!
If you can’t find people in real life, find them online.
Small business owner? Find other small business owners and make friends!
Blogger? Reach out to other bloggers and share your ideas with them.
More times than not, people will absolutely want to connect with you!
[Related Post: The Reason Why I Stopped Blogging]
There’s a plethora of communities online for just about any niche.
Support doesn’t have to come from physical friends and family, it can certainly come from connections you made online!
More often than not, people in general don’t support the journey, they only support the outcome if it’s success.
I get it, we don’t believe things until we see them, totally understandable.
4. Keep Your Ideas Private and only Share With Those You Trust.
This is where your close circle of support comes in.
Having supportive people will be extremely helpful when it comes to bouncing off ideas that you are not yet ready to share with the world but would like feedback on.
The problem with updating the world with your every move is that:
Most don’t actually care about the process unfortunately as mentioned before.
If you don’t actually follow through with your plans, most people aren’t going to take you serious.
Some people are out to steal your ideas before you even have a chance.
As much as we want to be transparent and share with everyone what we are doing, sometimes it’s best to just keep quiet and keep it private.
While it can be a good idea to announce things for accountability purposes, just be mindful about what it is that you are sharing.
People can’t attack what they don’t know.
There’s definitely a time and place to share things but you have to decide what that is for you.
