See the Haters for Who They Are

We all know there are haters out there. They are the people who feel so bad about themselves that they enjoy being hateful and trying to steal other people’s shine. Lately, though, I have seen more than usual hatred flowing around, so I thought it might be time to help the people who are as sensitive as I am to see why you shouldn’t waste your energy on haters.

A former student of mine posted that she had not sung or touched her guitar in three years because of a hateful incident involving her music. She has a voice like an angel, and I wish I could play the guitar like her, but hatefulness has kept her from sharing her gift with others. My daughter called me yesterday to vent about the hateful comments she has received on social media. She said people have criticized her teeth, her hair, and her general appearance. I know I am biased, but my daughter is beautiful. Even though you know the haters are in the wrong negative comments can sting, so here are a few ideas to help you ignore them.

Remember that haters have problems worse than anything you could be dealing with. They want us to be as miserable as they are. Tearing people down makes them feel better about themselves. Have you ever known a hater who had it all together? No.

Whenever I have a negative comment that is not helpful I remember my article about Christmas lights. I wrote an article about why we have Christmas lights. I talked about tradition and how fun it was, and there definitely wasn’t anything controversial in the article. I received over 100 comments ranging from racial slurs to political rants, and there were a few that didn’t make any sense at all. I read them all to my daughters and said I would no longer allow my comments to affect me. Whenever my girls talk about hatefulness I say, “Remember the Christmas lights.”

If you are a believer take a moment to pray for the haters because I believe the energy you send out comes back to you eventually. It will not be pretty.

Be kind, be careful with your words, lift others up, and ignore the haters, they hate it when you do that.