Friends are a very important part of our lives. We share our darkest and deepest parts of ourselves with them. They sometimes know us better than ourselves. We rely on them when the going gets tough in our lives. Great friends stand by us through our good and bad times. And we do the same for them. But not all the friends that we have are our real mates. There are many people in our lives who call themselves our friends because it serves them in a beneficial way. We need to be aware of such individuals posing as our friends. Such toxic friends will never want good things for us and they will rejoice when bad things befall us. But it is not always easy to recognize such people as they might not show their true colors. But there are traits which can help us to know which of our friends are toxic for us.
1. Jealousy Over Your Success
This is one of the most prominent trait that can help you to distinguish between a good friend and a toxic friend. Toxic friends would never want you to be successful and would secretly wish for you to fail. So, when good things come your way, they would not be able to hide their jealousy. They would not seem elated at your success. So, look closely to find out those your toxic friends hiding behind the masquerade of good friends and you might be shocked to discover the truth.
2. Harsh And Unnecessary Critic
A good friend will not hold back to tell you the truth, even if it is harsh. But when you do something good or new, your real friends would always encourage and support you. Toxic friends, on the other hand, would never be able to appreciate something good about you. They would always try to belittle you and criticize you to hamper your self-confidence. They do that on purpose to make you feel bad so that they can feel good about themselves.
3. Always Doubting Your Intentions
A good friend would believe you without any hesitations and take your advice because he or she knows you want only good things for him or her. But bad friends would always doubt your intentions and second guess your opinions. They would always think that you are trying to sabotage them because that is exactly what they do to others. Because of their misdeeds, they would find it hard to appreciate others when they give a good advice.
4. Remembers You Only When Required
A good friend would think about you when he or she misses you. Your real friends would call you to catch up with you or to check up on you. But your toxic friends don’t see you as a friend but rather just as a person who can help them out in tricky situations. Hence, they will only call you when they need you. This is another big sign of a toxic friend.
5. Manipulates And Controls You
Good friends know that you are an individual with a strong mind and individualistic taste. Hence, they would accept you as you are and respect you for the person that you are. But a toxic friend will always try to control you to get his or her way with you. He or she would manipulate you for his or her selfish interests. So, you need to be aware of such people and steer away from them in life. Life is too short to be wasted on toxic people.
6. No Respect For Your Boundaries
Good friends would always understand and respect your boundaries. They would never overstep those boundaries. But toxic friends would have no respect for your personal boundaries. They would not think twice before speaking bad about something or someone special to you. And that shows how less they care about you as they just want to control you.
Recognize the toxic people in your life and show them the exit door. That would bring peace and happiness to your life.
