It could be a co-worker or it could be someone closer to home, but chances are that someone is getting the best of you. They might be quite manipulative a lot, but the truth is that they probably have no idea they are hurting you because they are simply too focused on themselves.

This article will show you how you can find out who and how is taking the best of you. So soon you can take control of your life again.

1. You go out of your way to avoid criticism.

You can't make everyone happy. So trying to make everyone think you are doing an excellent job is actually impossible. No matter what you do, you will come across some criticism. Sometimes it's constructive criticism and other times it isn't. If you finding yourself facing a lot of hate full criticism... unfortunately the best thing to do is to learn to ignore it.

2. You have an addiction.

Not only are you losing power to the addiction itself, but you are also giving power to your supplier. This doesn't mean only strong drugs. For example, if you are addicted to coffee you not only give in to the coffee... but you are also spending a lot of money at coffee shops. So you are now giving power over to your local shop. Money that you could be saving for a vacation or something else you really want. Of course, coffee isn't actually that bad... but if you smoke cigarettes that is a more severe addiction and a lot of money being given to the wrong people. Money that could be spent on new clothes or video games.

3. You feel guilty for no reason.

Don't fall for guilt trips. There will be times in your life when feeling guilty is appropriate, in that case I applaud you for taking responsibility for your actions. However, not everyone out there is so nice and they may make you feel guilty when you don't deserve it. Don't let them manipulate you like that. They won't admit it, they probably don't even know that they are doing it... but these are the type of people that are so toxic that it is actually good for you to cut them out of your life.

4. You're stuck in a bad relationship.

They keep saying they will change, and they never do. They just keep doing the same thing over and over again. That kind of relationship.

I don't know you personally and I don't know your relationship... so please don't break up with your significant other just because you read this blog... but you know you and your relationship. It's okay to trust your gut feeling.

5. You just can't seem to let that grudge go.

It may be a bunch of little grudges or it could be one big grudge that is taking a hold of you. Either way, it's hurting you more to hold onto it than to let go.

This is easier said than done, I know, but it's important to remind yourself that you are hurting yourself more than you are hurting them. It's not worth it.

6. You keep complaining.

This one I am very guilty of... in fact most of my co workers are very guilty of this. The truth is you need to try reminding yourself to look at the glass half full.

For example, most people complain bitterly about where we work. Except for one young woman. Instead, she told me this once: "Working here has made me much more appreciative of my old jobs. We had a stronger community." It really hit me with surprise, I want to be more like her.

7. You spend way too much talking poorly about other people.

Heck, maybe you spend way too much time talking poorly about yourself too...

The truth is that you spend that much time talking about someone else, you are spending that much time thinking about someone else. This is time that could be spent on yourself instead. Talking poorly about other people is a bad habit for a lot of reasons too, this is just one of them.

8. You can't handle being alone.

Having some 'me' time is very good for you. Yes, you have to go out and be social too, but you also need to save some time for yourself.

It's actually considered very healthy if you are able to go to a restaurant alone. I'm not saying spend all your money every night on expensive food... I'm saying just try it once to see how you react.

If you feel like everyone is judging you for being at a restaurant alone... then you care too much what people think of you.

Take your life back.

It's never too late to take control of your life. Don't let others control your destination for you. If you want to change your life a good place to start is to establish healthy boundaries and practice forgiving.

The first thing I had to do was to not waste my time complaining in order to fix this mess I've made. That's a good starting point too.

You deserve to be happy and you alone have the control to make that happen. Stop letting other people get in the way your life goals.

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