I have always been the kind of person who loves to help others. I am a sucker for a friend in need, and I always want to help people the way I have been helped most of my life. Doing this however, has willed me to absorb other people’s misery and bad energy. People all have a vibe, and I’m sure most of us can sense other people’s demeanor as soon as we meet them. It is important that we don’t let those with a bad vibe interrupt our peace of mind, because in most cases people with an abundance of problems are the root of all those woes.

When I started helping and looking out for people who did nothing but drag me down or constantly lean on me, I was setting myself on fire to keep others warm— metaphorically of course. I realized that I was internalizing stress that wasn’t mine and it was started to wear me down; and to my surprise it was a hard habit to break. I had to force myself not to take certain calls or run to help the first time someone fell— tough love.

People who get mad at your for not being a crutch were never grateful for your good intentions as a person, they just wanted to leech the help from anyone they could. As sad as that is, I had to learn to let go, and I had to verbally remind myself sometimes that this problem didn’t belong to me and that my life was intact. Not absorbing the negative energy of others has made such a difference; because you don’t have that air of worry around you constantly and that makes your own kind clearer to live your life to its fullest potential.