Basement People versus Balcony People
Hello Girlfriends – Mark Twain affirmed, “Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
We all have people in our lives that either inspire us or bring us down. I call the ones that bring us down basement people and I call the ones that pick us up balcony people. The balcony people triumph in your accomplishments, they are your cheerleaders, the ones that will encourage you and bring you to new heights. These are the people I choose to surround myself with.
You can pick them out pretty quickly – be around a person a few times and you should have them pegged by their conversation. The balcony people will find positive in even the not so good situations – they will see the light even in the dark. Then there’s the basement people – these are the ones that will complain, can’t see the good in anything and seem to want to bring you down with them. They will find reason to complain and find everything wrong with a situation. They exude negativity and won’t be happy until they transfer their negative ideas and energy to someone else.
Bottom line – they will drain you and you’ll feel exhausted after leaving their presence. Sometimes you’ll even feel as if something hit you. They are the joy busters. The great news is that we have a choice to either be around these types of people or not.
So ask yourself, do I want to be around balcony people and have them lift me up or do I want to be around basement people and go down to the dark abyss of negativity with them. Now ask yourself what type of person am I? Am I a balcony person – singing, dancing on the platform of life or am I a basement person bringing others down and stealing their and most importantly your own joy? It’s time to go out there and dance to sing our songs of joy!
May the possibilities of today excite us!
I try my very best to be a balcony person. This was a wonderful blog. I myself have had to get rid of some friends (of whom I was very close to) because they were basement people. I thought I could be the balcony person for them all the time, but eventually the basement takes you down. So , like you said, it is always best to just let go of the basement people in your life…God brings the balcony in the right time.
No doubt in my mind I’m a balcony person. The basement dwellers can truly bring us down. Sometimes it’s important to take a friend inventory and clear out those who aren’t good for a healthy you. Thanks for sharing Nancy!
I like the way you think Angela….taking a friend inventory is always healthy for the soul! Thank you for sharing!
At one point in my life, I was surrounded by basement people. I was consistently having my life force sucked out of me. One day, I had enough and I flushed the toilet. Got all of them AWAY from me. I completely remodeled my self and my life. I am truly happy now. Once in a while the leeches call me. I usually don’t answer or politely excuse myself.