No matter what you say or do, and no matter who you are, there will always be people who will have something to say against you. After all, you cannot please everyone. 

Each of us has to deal with haters and envious people at some point in our life. Most of the time, it’s just too difficult to shake them off. There are just so many haters out there and the dangerous part is, they will always try to rip you off with their hateful criticisms and bad comments. 

Ignoring haters may be the easiest way to deal with them, but it’s not always as effective in silencing them.

Although haters need not be feared, they need to be dealt with.

However, most people will advise us to just shake them off. Ignoring haters may be the easiest way to deal with them, but it’s not always as effective in silencing them. If your haters are your co-workers, classmates, boss, neighbors, or relatives, ignoring them may not always work. 

Here are five effective ways to deal with haters and destructive critics:

Continue Doing What They Criticize

First, you have to make sure that you know the difference between constructive criticisms and hateful comments. Constructive criticisms aim to correct your wrong, improve you to become better, and are typically given out of genuine care and concern.

Hateful comments, on the other hand, are just that — hateful. They aim to point out your flaws and inadequacies and are typically unleashed with the intention to destroy you or put you down.

If you know that the criticisms are ill-intended, then you don’t have to stop or change what you are doing just to please the critics. In fact, one of the best ways to silence (and annoy) haters is to do more of what they hate — as long as you know you are not causing any harm to anything or anyone.

My closest friends who really know me are aware that, when I find out someone hates me for doing what I do, it motivates me to do more of it. It’s not only because I’m happy doing what I’m doing, but also because I like to spite them, haters, sometimes. (I know, I know — it’s kind of evil, but…)

When I was in high school, I was being hated (and bullied) because I loved to wear a non-ordinary high school fashion. While others wear typical jeans and shirts, I wear red dresses with big red ribbons on my hair. I also wear a lot of pink stuff from time to time. 

There were some people who didn’t appreciate my kind of girly fashion, and while my younger, too emotional self felt hurt because of the bullies, it didn’t stop me from staying true to what I want. Later on, I realized that I also enjoyed spiting the bullies, especially because they got annoyed with something they shouldn’t be bothered with, in the first place.

Thank Them for Their Input

Whenever someone says something bad about you, whether directly or indirectly, try not to take it personally nor react negatively. Instead, be grateful and thank them for their input. This will either silence them (because you took their criticism in the positive light) or annoy them even more (because you are staying positive despite their negativity). Either way, you won’t lose.

My daughter loves to sing and she’s posting song covers and even some of her unpolished song practices on her social media account just for fun. One time, when she was 11, she posted a video of her belting to Celine Dion’s “All By Myself”. It was not flawlessly sung, of course, and she knew it. 

However, a few hours after she posted the video, someone sent hateful comments about her singing — that she was off-key, that she was being too boastful showing off her voice, and that she’ll never be good. These words could easily break a kid’s dream and passion. Yet instead of taking it personally, my daughter thanked her critic for the unsolicited input and told the hater that she’ll use this criticism as a way to improve herself, but it won’t stop her from doing what she loves.

Take It As A Compliment & Be Grateful For The Haters

Haters are usually envious people who just want to pull others down. And why would they want to pull you down? Simple: it’s because you’re above them. 

Only successful people inspire envy and criticism. So if you have haters, it only means that you’re becoming successful at what you do. Take it as a compliment, and again, don’t take it personally.

Turn their hateful words and actions to fuel your motivation to become better than you were yesterday. It doesn’t mean the haters will be gone by tomorrow — in fact, their number will continue to grow. There’s one way to handle it: grow with them. 

Laugh With Them

Laugh with them, not at them.

Haters don’t just criticize you, some of them also laugh at you. If you encounter this type of haters, don’t feel bad. Instead, you can choose to laugh with them and have some fun, too. You can do it with a bit of sarcasm, but try not to show any trace of annoyance at all, because that’s what they want to see. And you wouldn’t want to give them that satisfaction.

If the destructive criticisms are thrown at you as a joke, you can join the fun by throwing back jokes too — just make sure yours are harmless and not ill-mannered. 

Be Honest and Confront Them

You can also deal with your haters by just being blatantly honest with them. Confront them and tell them that you don’t appreciate their hateful comments against you. Request them to stop because it doesn’t help you or your relationship with them. Also, tell them honestly that hating you won’t make them a better individual at all.

If they still continue with the hate, even after you confront them, then it’s time to do what most people say: ignore them. Sever your ties from them when you can. Delete or block them from your social media accounts and try to limit your interactions with them as much as possible. 

You cannot control the haters, but fortunately, you can control how you handle them.

The best thing about confronting people is that you can express how you feel about the situation. But of course, you cannot control how this will work out. At least, through confronting them, they will know that you know what they are doing against you — and hopefully, this will make them feel embarrassed about themselves.

Haters Are Gonna Hate

No one can stop the haters from hating. Sadly, in this digital age, people can easily pour their own frustrations about life towards others by cultivating hate instead of promoting love and kindness. You cannot control the haters, but fortunately, you can control how you handle them. For as long as you know you don’t do any harm towards others, you are on the right track.

How do you handle haters? Share your thoughts below!

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