Friends who hate it when you thrive

 Photo: Courtesy

Have you ever noticed that when you are trying to achieve something, the most vocal naysayers are the people who are struggling with that very same thing? For example, when you decide to cut down some weight and start living a healthier life, your chubby friends will be your biggest detractors.

They will try to discourage you or even flat out sabotage your progress and efforts. I am sure you have also seen it posted on social media many times that the people who hate on your success the most are the most broke.

There is, in fact, a lot of truth in that cliché. They hatin but they broke tho!

Everybody knows that being healthy is a good thing. However, when you make the decision to start living healthy and put in work and the results start to show, you suddenly start facing a lot of criticism.

They will start telling you that you are overdoing it and you should slow down even though you are not. They might even try to entice you with your favourite savouries when they know very well that you are on a diet.

They will try to act like they are doing it to help you by encouraging you to live a little because, YOLO but the truth is they are just trying to throw a spanner in your works. They don’t want you to lose weight. They want you to be fat, just like them.

So why would your fat friends, who should have your best interests at heart, resent you because you actively working on living a healthier life and becoming a better you? The answer is simple.

It is because you are doing what they want to do but they can’t or are unable to do. You are actually getting out there and pursuing your dreams while they do nothing about their own dreams.

This applies to all are facets of life. The people who try to put you down because you are achieving something or because you are overcoming something do so because they are not happy with that aspect of their lives themselves.

When you decide to start a business, some people will resent you for it because it is their dream to start their own businesses but they are doing nothing about it.

When you start travelling internationally, some people will feel bitter about it because they also have dreams about travelling internationally but they are doing nothing to actualize these dreams and there you are, doing what they can’t do.

Self-improvement always leaves some people seething with jealousy.  People will hate you for the sole reason that you have improved yourself.

Everyone wants to live the best life possible but it is not everyone that is working towards that. So when they see you elevating, they purpose to bring you down so they can feel good about themselves. If they can’t succeed, no one can.

You should learn to distinguish between constrictive criticism and destructive criticism. Just because it is coming from your friends and family members doesn’t mean they want the best for you.