Am I a Toxic Person?

Obviously, if you are reading this text it is because you are interested in knowing how much responsibility you have for the way your life is going. Maybe you are worried about problems you have at work, with your family, with your partner or with friends. And maybe you ask yourself, am I doing something wrong so that things don’t go the way I want? I am a toxic person?

Congratulations on your courage!!

What makes a Person Toxic?

Now we are going to analyze some aspects that will allow you to make your own evaluation and conclusion about whether you are a toxic person or not. It is clear that these kinds of people are harmful, not only to others, but mainly to themselves. And they are characterized by the following points:

Aspects to consider:

• Criticism of others: talking behind someone’s back, constructive criticism about someone that makes them feel stupid, pointing out their mistakes and flaws, with the aim of improving them. Judging other people’s attitudes, approving of or rejecting their actions. Becoming self-appointed judges, giving verdicts about everyone’s life.

• Constant complaining: The fact of always being dissatisfied or annoyed about some aspect of our life, or because things do not go the way we want. This can be related to work, family, money, studies, etc., etc.

• Aggressiveness: picking arguments with other people, which we later regret,  either because we ended up insulting them or maybe even attacking them physically. The feeling of anger or hatred for someone who has made us feel bad. Intentionally hurting someone with words, with the justification that they deserved it for hurting us.

• Envy: wishing, at some point, to have something others have, perhaps a professional degree, or a house, or perhaps an almost perfect love. Thinking that these people do not deserve what they have. Or even doubting someone’s honesty because of the material things they have.
• And the list goes on …

Very likely you recognized your own behavior in some of these items. As you can see, there are different degrees of toxicity. That is, those people who do everything described above will be very toxic and if you only see a few of these traits in yourself, you will be less toxic. However, the case is that this toxicity is the cause of all our problems, discomforts, sufferings and lack of hope for a better and happier life.

What are the causes?

In short, we can say that we all are to some extent toxic. However, what truly matters is that we acknowledge this, so as to be able to change our reality. The first step is to start waking up.

There are many causes for this toxic behaviour: the negative aspects of education that we have received from society and the culture we live in; religious, political and social bigotry; selfishness, lack of love for others, hypocrisy. Also, the demands of life these days; the competition which we are subjected to; the

obligation to be successful professionally and/or economically; lack of values such as altruism, cooperation, respect, charity. We could list an endless amount of causes.

Revolutionary Psychology

So, what to do?

Gnostic  knowledge teaches us that before wanting to know the causes that make us toxic, there is a need to take a first step. And this is: BECOME AWARE and then get ready for a RADICAL CHANGE.

• First: Observe ourselves, our actions, our words, our thoughts. Realize that it is us causing the problem.

• Second: assume that we can change, assume that because we are the cause of the problem, we are also the solution. Recognize that we are responsible for the things that happen in our lives, with every decision we make, with every word we say, and with every action we take (be it good or bad). Acknowledge that we can change the situation we find ourselves in, and recognize that we have many attitudes, beliefs and prejudices that we need to change.

 Understanding our toxicity gives us the possibility to change. Taking small actions in daily life and applying simple techniques we can get to know the root causes and start eliminating them.

Acknowledging that  we are toxic does not make us bad people, quite the opposite. It means we are the kind of people who want to become aware and responsible for their life and what they give to others. Because the most important thing about knowing I am toxic is that I can change, and that I can give a new meaning to my life.

Discover how to achieve this in our online and in-person self-knowledge courses.