Happiness can definitely depend on your environment. By environment, I don’t necessarily mean where you live or the places you choose to go, though those things surely have their importance as well. In this case, what I mean by environment are the people that you surround yourself with. I strongly believe that the people around you can positively or negatively affect your mood, self-confidence, and wellbeing whether you are aware of it or not.

There are jealous people who put you down, people who don’t laugh at your jokes because they think they’re more weird than funny, and people who limit you from achieving your full potential. My advice? Cut those people off. It’s not selfish to rid yourself of people and their attitudes if they’re doing nothing but holding you back. No confrontation needed, just let those bad friends go. Personally, as I’ve gotten older I’ve become more aware of the people around me and their actions/motives. Newsflash: most people really only care about themselves. I’ve been hurt by too many people too many times to just associate with everyone that I encounter.

How about those people that always seem to have a negative attitude about anything? You know them, the ones that always have something to say about everything. Whether it’s gossiping and talking badly about other people, degrading your choices, or themselves, nothing positive leaves their mouths. It can be exhausting to be surrounded by so much negativity so often. Those kinds of people can make you second guess everything that you do, and make you wonder what kind of things that they say about you when you’re not around.

It’s important to filter through the people that you meet and keep around only the ones who deserve it. Otherwise, people will take advantage of you. It may sound pessimistic, but how many times have you have you realized that people ask you for help and you run to their aid, but when the tables are turned, those same people pretend as if you didn’t exist? There’s no need for those people to stick around. The only thing that results from this is you feeling used and hurt, and them feeling no remorse.

You don’t need this kind of stress in your life. Your friends are supposed to be there for you, support you, and do what is in your best interest for the most part. Nobody is perfect, but there are clear differences between good friends and bad friends. Keep around only those who make you happy and make you feel good about yourself. Life is too short to settle for anyone or anything.