What To Do When Someone Tries To Make You Look Bad (10 Important Tips)

Team GeekyCrazeMay 9, 2022Last Updated: May 9, 2022

Is someone attempting to make you look bad at work or in your personal life?

It’s simple to lash out and reply aggressively and instinctively, however I need to recommend a wiser method. Here’s how to take someone’s efforts to sabotage you and switch it proper again on them with none of the vindictiveness or mess.

What to do when someone tries to make you look bad

There are quite a lot of conditions the place others might attempt to make us look bad, particularly at work or in social conditions.

When it occurs, resist the urge to lash out or take revenge. At the identical time, take note of these 10 important tips on how to reply.

1) Don’t simply chuckle it off

I handled bullying rising up and social exclusion later in life, together with in work and social contexts.

My response used to be usually delicate. I’d dismiss feedback placing me down or mocking me and chuckle at my very own expense.

What hurt can it do? I believed…

Well:

The hurt it could possibly do is definitely rather a lot. If you don’t respect and get up for your self, no person else will both.

If you need to know what to do when someone tries to make you look bad, the first step is to take it severely.

As a lot as this particular person would possibly attempt to persuade you it’s only for enjoyable, sabotaging anyone and making them really feel terrible is just not a joke.

I like Stephanie Vozza’s advice on this:

“If you do discover proof of sabotage, take it severely.

“Gather evidence to support your belief that you are being undermined and sabotaged.”

2) Tackle the roots

If you lash out instantly at someone who’s attempting to spoil your picture and make you really feel crappy, you run the danger of it taking place once more in a good worse manner.

Instead, it’s important to sort out the roots of why this individual is attempting to smash your popularity.

The motive could possibly be for financial acquire, a promotion, respect and a spotlight and even simply out of spite.

But on the root of all of those motivations is mostly one primary concern: intense insecurity.

People who’re safe in their very own skills and selves don’t trouble attempting to minimise others down as a result of they’re too busy constructing themselves up.

Whoever is doing this to you seemingly has some severe shallowness and self-confidence points.

I’m not saying to really feel sorry for them, however I’m saying to talk with them one-on-one.

Which brings me to tip three.

3) Talk to them one-on-one

Often in social conditions or work, a bad apple might attempt to make you look bad by counting on the ability of group strain.

In different phrases, they’ll attempt to present you up as incompetent, ill-intentioned or weak in entrance of the group as an entire.

They then sit again with arms folded as the priority and mockery of the group begins to escalate on the rumours being unfold about you.

“Oh my God, did Bob seriously tell the CEO he needs another extension? The guy is so f*cking lazy…”

You, Bob, hear them speaking about you like this and are torn between responding to defend your self or staying quiet.

Little do individuals know that your spouse is gravely ailing and you’ve been fully distracted from work due to that.

You need to inform all of your coworkers to shut the hell up…

Instead, go discover the supply of this nasty gossip and confront her or him.

Talk to them one-on-one. Let them know that if they’ve issues about you or an issue they’ll come speak to you personally somewhat than behind-your-back.

Avoid anger or accusation. Just ask them how they want it if you started spreading inaccurate or unfair rumours about them behind their again.

4) Give your self an influence increase

If someone is attempting to make you look bad, you have each proper to concentrate on their unacceptable conduct.

At the identical time, paying it an excessive amount of consideration can go away you feeling much more overwhelmed and helpless.

At occasions like this, the perfect factor to do is definitely to faucet into your personal energy.

Insecure and jealous individuals love to attempt to tear us down, however the reality is all of us have an unbelievable quantity of energy and potential inside us.

The unhappy factor is that almost all of us by no means faucet into it. We turn into slowed down in self-doubt and limiting beliefs and start specialising in the naysayers who attempt to sabotage us.

We cease doing what brings us true happiness.

I discovered a couple of distinctive and efficient manner to discover your true personal energy from the famend Brazilian shaman Rudá Iandê.

He’s helped hundreds of individuals align work, household, spirituality, and love to allow them to unlock the door to their personal energy and cease letting the world sap them of energy and drive.

He has a singular method that mixes conventional historical shamanic techniques with a modern-day twist. It’s an method that makes use of nothing however your personal interior energy – no gimmicks or pseudo New Age claims of snapping your fingers whereas saying “Om” and out of the blue feeling nice.

In his wonderful free video, Rudá explains how you can create the life you’ve at all times dreamed of and cease letting the voices of negativity drown you out, and it’s simpler than you would possibly assume.

So if you’re uninterested in residing in frustration, dreaming however by no means attaining, and of residing in self-doubt, you want to take a look at his life-changing recommendation.

5) Cut by way of the lies

As I mentioned, in lots of conditions it doesn’t work to confront a gaggle that’s been contaminated by someone’s lies or rumours about you.

But if anyone is attempting to make you look bad in entrance of a gaggle together with pals, a cherished one and even in entrance of strangers, it’s important to defend your self as properly.

Take a common however seemingly trivial instance:

You are out having dinner with a possible business contact. You work in the true property discipline and this individual is a significant developer who you really need to work with.

He shall be coming along with his affiliate, one other high-up developer.

You meet at a restaurant and instantly discover this individual’s judgemental look at your non-expensive clothes.

Then, whereas scanning the menu, the man makes disparaging feedback about how perhaps the costs are too excessive for you. His feminine colleague laughs.

You really feel emasculated and indignant, however don’t need to snap again with one thing impolite in case it ruins your alternative.

Being overly defensive is insecure, however saying nothing or storming out makes you look like a drip. The finest response is one thing like:

“I came here to help make money and help us all get richer, not to act like I already have it.”

Boom.

You minimise by way of the bullsh*t angle they’re giving you and certain get amusing and a few newfound respect as properly.

6) Dial down the niceness

Emotional manipulators, narcissists and psychologically abusive individuals could be a bit like religious sharks.

They hunt down someone who is sweet, form or forgiving after which prey on them.

It’s horrific to watch, and it’s not a lot enjoyable to expertise both.

If you have a tendency to be the “nice guy” or “super chill girl,” attempt to dial down the niceness a bit.

Be good to those that deal with you properly and respect you. Don’t give your time, energy, compassion and assist away.

You haven’t any obligation to empower poisonous and manipulative individuals.

Plus, consider it this manner:

The extra you let your self be used, put down or shamed by others the extra probability they’ll acquire momentum and mistreat different individuals after you.

End the cycle. Be much less good.

7) Don’t let it go to your head

A preferred saying has it that you shouldn’t let reward go to your head. The that means is that you shouldn’t assume you’re so nice that you get sloppy and begin taking success as a right.

The identical goes within the reverse:

You shouldn’t let the criticisms and poisonous conduct of others go to your head.

You can defend your self, confront them one-on-one, empower your self and be clear in your boundaries, however you don’t want to take it personally.

The tougher someone tries to make you look bad, the extra pathetic of an individual they’re.

Who does that? Really…

Be safe as a lot as attainable in your self and know that if others are attempting to actively sabotage you then they’re scared or threatened by you in a roundabout way.

Remember what trade union leader Nicholas Klein famously said:

“First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you.”

(The quote is commonly falsely attributed to Indian independence chief Mahatma Gandhi however was initially spoken by Klein).

8) Get clear by yourself objective

One of the perfect ways for what to do when someone tries to make you look bad is to get clear by yourself objective.

Instead of listening to the ways in which they’re trashing you and attempting to fill you with self-doubt, concentrate on what you need to accomplish in life.

OK, simple sufficient to say, proper?

But first we want to give you a central mission for you in life, in different phrases: your objective.

So:

What would you say if I requested you what your objective is?

It’s a tough question!

And there are far too many individuals attempting to inform you it can simply “come to you” and to concentrate on “raising your vibrations” or discovering some imprecise form of interior peace.

It doesn’t work. I’ve tried.

Self-help gurus are on the market preying on individuals’s insecurities to make money and promoting them on techniques which actually don’t work for attaining your goals.

Visualisation.

Meditation.

Sage burning ceremonies with some vaguely indigenous chanting music within the background.

Hit pause.

The reality is that visualisation and optimistic vibes gained’t deliver you nearer to your goals, they usually can truly drag you backwards into losing your life on a fantasy.

Instead, do one thing that truly works.

I discovered concerning the energy of discovering your objective from watching Ideapod co-founder Justin Brown’s video on the hidden entice of bettering your self.

Justin used to be addicted to the self-help trade and New Age gurus similar to me. They offered him on ineffective visualisation and optimistic considering techniques.

He went in circles losing his time, money and energy on these frauds till he discovered a brand new path that introduced him readability, willpower and enthusiasm for the primary time in years.

And he discovered it deep within the jungles of Brazil, as Justin explains on this free video.

After watching the video, I additionally found my distinctive objective in life and it’s no exaggeration to say it was a turning level in lastly getting over the video games and manipulative behaviours of some poisonous individuals round me.

9) Make them look determined

I’ve emphasised right here that tit-for-tat responses when someone tries to make you look bad are usually not the way in which to go.

This is true.

However, in some circumstances you can hit again a bit by making them look determined.

Somebody who’s attempting to smash your popularity or gaslight you can typically be simply taken down by merely mentioning how obsessed they’re with you.

“Thanks for worrying so much about me and for the free psychological analysis, man. I’ll be OK. Take care of yourself, OK?” is an instance of an efficient comeback.

It additionally reveals the individuals round this poisonous individual how odd their obsession with you is.