We’ve heard the saying, People love success but not successful people. Why is that? And, what exactly does that mean? It means, as long as you’re in the same boat trying to climb success it’s OK because neither of you reached your goals yet. You’re on the same playing field so to speak, but the minute you pass them by and climb your way to the top and they’re still trying to get there, it’s easy for them to cop-out and become jealous of you. That’s right, it’s a cop-out. Instead of trying to figure out how you were able to succeed and which steps you took in getting there, they’d rather throw darts of hate at you because you beat them to the punch. Their jealousy can show up in a lot of ways.
First, it can start off with negativity or constant criticism which can later progress to even ignoring you or cutting off the relationship. Their jealousy can also turn into a frequent competition with you instead of contending with the competitive market itself. So, how can you deal with haters?
The truth is, when you become successful, there will always be haters. They have their own insecurities and reasons why they envy you, but none are ever really justified and only in rare cases are they right about you. The best way to handle a hater is to keep succeeding. What did you think I was going to say? Stop everything you’re doing and put your business or career on hold until your friend-foe works through their feelings? That sounds ridiculous right? Well, it is. Keep doing exactly what you’re doing.
The more you beg and plead for the sympathy of your own success, the more stressed out you will become. In that moment, you WILL fail. In most instances, it’s best to ignore your haters. The more successful you become, you will have too many haters to fight with anyway. Have you ever seen someone walking down the street arguing with every dog that barks at them? You would think they’re nuts! A dog does what he/she is supposed to do— bark. Likewise, a hater will hate. On the other hate, do you think you are guilty of contributing to the hate?
Success is a beautiful thing and you should celebrate it at every chance you get, but you have to know the difference between sharing and bragging about your success. Otherwise, you could be contributing to the haters hating on you. Oh yes, you play a part in the way a hater can respond to you too, don’t get a twisted honey! You can make a person who once admired you hate you if you’re not careful with how you handle your success. Sometimes, you won’t even be able to share your ideas or your dreams because people will do two or three things, rejoice with you, figure out a way to show you that it won’t work, or steal your idea and run with it.
Therefore, you have to be balanced. Some things you have to keep quiet about it so you won’t inadvertently feed the piranhas. Be humble. Humility attracts but haughtiness distracts. Expect that not everyone will like you or what you do, and learn to accept it. Many know they will have haters, but they don’t always know how to accept it. How can you tell? You will know if you accept people for who they are when it stops bothering you. When you’re new to success it’s not always easy to accept people who hate on you, but in some rare instances, a hater can be right. Really?
Yes, a hater may say some things that may be true about you, but it’s the way they say it and go about it that can be in poor taste. Discern for yourself whether the criticism is true or false and make the adjustments that may be necessary. Don’t argue about it. Just fix it. Acknowledging that the hater is right can show others your humility and make them interested in your business. For example, if a business owner sells a product that they advertised as blue, but the customer says it’s actually sky blue (that’s how some haters are, they’re picky), you can acknowledge that the customer is right, thank them for speaking about your product, and then fix your advertisement to say the product is sky blue and move on. Now if that customer goes on and on with nitpickiness by saying the product is too small or too this or that, then other customers will see them for who they are- a hater, and yes, haters are hard to please.
At the end of the day, no one ever said success would be easy. It requires a thick skin to deal with people who hate. Just remember, you didn’t come of all this way to be knocked down by faultfinders. Therefore, be resilient in the face of opposition! Be determined to continue to succeed! In the words of Kanye West, “If they hate let em hate and watch the money pile up!”
About Author
Meet Selena Haskins is a native Washingtonian whose love for reading and writing started at the tender age of nine. Selena’s greatest loves are God and family and she uses both as the central theme in all of her books. By writing in various genres, particularly, historical fiction, family saga, and romance, Selena’s stories cross the generation lines and bridges the gaps between modern and contemporary fiction. Following the paths of legendary authors who came before her, Selena simply wants to write “good memorable stories that reflect a moral message.”
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