Begone, energy drains!

Remember the old saying, "Show me a man's friends, and I'll tell you what he's like"?
Well, I'd like to change that a little. Show me a man's friends, and I'll tell you what he'll become. Its hard enough to get somewhere, do something or (and? :) be someone worthwhile. Its harder trying to do it with negative energy draining you, bringing you down.

So who are these vampires? They are the people around you who whine constantly, the ones who spend their free time bitching, the ones complaining and cribbing about their lot in life. Sure, everyone has a bad day. But if you keep company with someone who does this with the majority of his or her free time, you're doing yourself and your future a lot of harm.

Lets get to this practically. Think of all the people you interact with. Go on. Get out a sheet of paper and make a list.
Whoever you interact with on a daily basis MUST be on this list. Then all the weeklies. The rest aren't all that important, my first priority is getting your immediate surroundings clean.

Made that list? Good.
Now classify these people in terms of the effect they have on you.

Some really kick you into gear, inspirational, leave you feeling better than how you were when you hit them. You know who these people. Mark them down with a '+' - they affect your life positively. Then there will be some people who don't do much to your mood. Y'know, they come, they go - its just the same. They don't add much, but they don't take away. Just put a 0 (zero) next to them. And last come our disasters - the people who bring you down, weigh on you emotionally, nag and crib. These are people telling you things can't be done. The ones nitpicking with your plans. The naysayers, the fools who aren't grateful for what they have. Put a '-' (minus sign) next to them.

These are the ones you have to get rid of. You have to.
There are no two ways about it. You are the company you keep.

Stay around sheep, you'll find yourself bleating soon, being shepherded into the next big thing, working jobs you hate so you can buy shit you don't need. (Thank you, Fight Club) Stay around people without direction, and you'll be floating with them. If you keep people in your life who drag you down, you are conciously making the choice to degrade the quality of your life.

You don't need that aggravation.

You only have one life. You only have so much time to get your dreams running. Do you really have the time to sit and bitch about things that can't be changed? Is that really the best thing you could be doing that time? Don't keep negative influences in your life. In fact, try to minimize the zeros as well - if they aren't pulling you up, someone else could be. They're just taking up space.

Throw them out. Simple and most effective. Find a way to avoid the vampires completely. Make sure you don't cross paths.

If you can't do that, you have to learn to defend yourself. Grow some thick skin. Be a little bull-headed.
Don't let their negativity affect you. Keep yourself motivated.
If they're the sort who keep dragging themselves into trouble and then come running to you to console them, tell them once and for all that they should stop messing with their lives. You cannot be the saviour of people who like the drama, or are sorrow magnets.
You cannot change a sadist. You shouldnt have to. But understand that they will behave the way they do, and figure out how to make sure it will not affect you.

What I'm trying to say here is - be the change. Be optimistic, be cheerful. You are the little guiding light of the world. You should leave every person feeling a little better than how they were before they met you. You can do anything you set your mind to. Don't let the vamps get in the way.

Be a positive, people, and take care.