Make Yourself Bully-Proof

Episode 65

The sad and sorry fact is that bullying will never be fully eradicated. Bullying is even less socially acceptable now than ever but in some ways it may have been driven underground. Bullying isn’t just restricted to children as it can also take place in work and sport environments by adults on adults. Social media has made bullying even more complicated. There are many different types of bullying. While we are all working to reduce bullying, it is important to also work on reducing your chances of being bullied.

 

1. PROJECT CONFIDENCE

If you concentrate on improving your eye contact, your posture, your stride while walking, your hand shake and the way that you greet others, this will help you to bully-proof yourself. These could also have the added benefits of improving your posture and your happiness/confidence levels. Bullies notoriously prefer weaker appearing targets. Projecting confidence shows that you are not prepared to be a victim. Have the confidence to be confident. Your confidence should be warm and inviting and not arrogant or aggressive.

 

2. RESPECT YOURSELF

Self-respect may take a little longer to achieve but basically, if you don’t respect yourself, you may allow others not to respect you too. How do you respect yourself? In order to keep it simple we’ll agree that living your life in accordance with your own moral beliefs should make it easier to respect yourself.

 

3. IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH

If you can improve your diet and increase your fitness and strength, it should make you a harder target for a bully. It will also give you a confidence boost and improve your overall health and longevity. Win, win and win.

 

4. MANAGE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

Why follow people who make you feel bad about yourself? Do you really need those frenemies? Do you need to be a part of a toxic group? You can have more control over the content you view and the content you put out there. You will need to actively self-monitor and liberally use unfriend, block, delete, unlike and remove anything that negatively affects your mental state. Some people don’t use twitter because they feel it can be a nasty place. Some people don’t like Facebook because they feel it can be very negative. I have several friends who use absolutely no social media at all. Imagine that!

 

5. TAKE A SELF-DEFENCE COURSE

Are you shocked that The Success Sensei is recommending this one?! You’re lucky I’m not suggesting a lifelong study of the martial arts! I’ll remained unbiased and simply say that if you wish to know how to defend yourself, should the need arise, then take up any self-defence course and get the ball rolling. Bullies don’t like people who can defend themselves.

 

6. INCREASE YOUR CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

There’s safety in numbers and the wider your network of real friends, the more people you will have to stick up for you if you need a bit of back up. The more experience you have of dealing with a wide range of people, the easier you will find it to get on with the majority of people. Communication can be a learned skill that continues to develop with experience.

 

7. AVOID TOXIC PEOPLE

It’s not possible to get on with everybody. Everyone won’t be your friend. Certain people just don’t get on so to prolong unnecessary contact could lead to unwanted situations arising. Your time and energy are very limited so be ruthless in your selection of people you wish to hang out with as well as those you don’t. It doesn’t have to be a mean spirited selection as nobody should notice your decision. 

 

8. AVOID UNECESSARY DRAMA

Some people can seem like they love the attention they get from the drama in their lives. Gossip and drama don’t make life any more exciting. In fact, if you are pursuing your goals, they are a distraction from your path. It can be so easy to get roped into other people’s dramatic situations and it’s also not necessary to turn the volume up on your own problems instead of simply handling them.

 

9. MANAGE YOUR EMOTIONS

There are many things that cannot be controlled but you do have a large degree of control over your own emotions. Sometimes being able to laugh off insults can keep situations from escalating. You don’t need to engage your ego or clash with people that you don’t respect.

 

10. CONFIDE IN FAMILY AND CLOSE FRIENDS

If you need help then make sure you ask for it. Not everyone can understand hinting. Having people who you are close enough to talk to and letting them know how you feel is not only therapeutic but they may be able to help too. Bottling things up isn’t healthy. Don’t allow things to escalate. Deal with situations as early as possible. If you suspect a potential bullying situation could occur and you can’t remove yourself from the situation, inform a trusted friend to get their opinion.

 

I really hope that this serves as a preventative blog and that nobody reading this is currently struggling with being bullied. If you are affected by any of the issues above, please seek the appropriate help or talk to someone you feel comfortable talking to.

 

I would love to hear your views. Please get in touch using any of the channels below. All comments, reviews, subscribes, likes and shares are greatly appreciated. Thank you for all your continued support.

 

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By Roundhouse Rob, The Success Sensei

 

Robert Devane is a serial entrepreneur and experienced investor as well as a former martial arts multiple World champion and professional MMA fighter with over 20 years of coaching experience.

 

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