Dealing With Haters

1) One role model told us that “on your journey to…success, you will find a lot of people that are going to try to tear you down.” Why might someone try to “tear” someone else down? What could this look or sound like?

2) Setting boundaries for your relationships is one way to help ensure that people treat you respectfully. As one role model says, “You do not allow people to treat you as a garbage can…you don’t get to come to me with any type of negativity.” Why do you think setting relationship boundaries is important? Do you have any boundaries that you have set to help keep your relationships respectful? If so, what are they?

3) One role model said, “If you have haters, that means that you are doing something that they are not.” Why do you think the role model chose to share this idea? Can you think of any examples of this from your own life or from books or movies?

4) When someone is being bullied, it isn’t always easy to decide what to do. What options would you suggest to someone being bullied? Who could they talk to? What could they do to help stop, prevent, or overcome the situation?

5) Haters don’t only exist at school or in your community. There are also haters online. Where might you encounter haters online? What should you do if someone is bullying you online?

6) “You may not believe in yourself in that moment, but you’ve got to keep going. You’ve got to keep striving.” How might a strong, positive statement like this help someone being bullied? How might it help you? Can you think of any other strong, positive statements that may help someone being bullied?

You will find that on your journey to being whatever your success is, you will find a lot of people that are going to try to tear you down, that are gonna tell lies on you, that are going to try to make you feel less than so that they can feel better. And as we categorize that these days, as haters.

If you have haters, that means that you are doing something they are not. Because most people who are doing just as good or better than you, they have no reason what so ever to hate on you.

If a student is being bullied, they are encouraged to reach out to an adult.

A guardian, or a parent, or a teacher, someone you can confide in, someone who you know will take it seriously and find a way to help you with that.

Go to your school counselor, tell your parents. You may not want to. You may think I’m embarrassed, and I want people to know this. It won’t stop unless you take action. So what someone at school later says, oh, there’s a tattletale who told whatever that person is, again, not gonna be around in your life in five years if they’re mean, you’re gonna move on. You’re gonna go on to different things that won’t matter.

One thing is, that’s important as well. If you don’t feel comfortable saying it, write it down and make sure that it gets to an adult so that some action can be taken.

And one easy thing to do is block those people, but their words can still hurt you. And that you have to learn that people when they’re mean to you like that is because they’re insecure and they’re being mean to you because they wanna bring you down because they’re down. So if someone’s being mean to you, and you’re in middle school, high school, and they’re sending you these mean messages, bullying you on Facebook, that’s because they’re insecure too. They don’t feel good about themselves. They may seem like the most confident person. And “yeah, I’m bringing you down” for what that makes them feel better to make you feel worse.

And I get it. I get that. If you’re on the receiving end, it’s awful. And if you’re giving it, don’t do it. It’s not worth it. We’re all just people at the end of the day. And as you look at that girl who may be mean to you or you think you’re not as good as you will be, you’ll be ten times.

You may not believe in yourself in that moment, but you gotta keep going. You gotta keep striving. Um, you get knocked down, but you get back up. You are too beautiful, too wonderful. You are worthy; you are enough. You do not allow people to treat you as a garbage can. Meaning allowing, especially other young women to gossip about and talk about other young women in your presence. You walk in a room where people already know that it is not; it’s non-negotiable. You don’t get to come to me with any type of negativity and garbage. Because what happens is when you associate yourself with people like that, you kind of tend to become one with them. And then lastly, you don’t have time for that. You are trying to realize your dreams because you believe in yourself, right? So you don’t have time for the garbage and negativity.

Independent Learning Guide: This all-purpose guide can also be used by educators, parents, and mentors to jumpstart a valuable discussion about building wealth and maintaining financial resources.

Dealing with haters isn’t simple, but there are concrete steps you can take. Having trusted friends and adults by your side is one great choice. Another smart option is to focus on your goals and the things that make you amazing. Learn more about how to handle haters, grow your own self-confidence, and reach the goals you set for yourself regardless of what the haters may say!

Classroom Lesson Plan: This step-by-step lesson plan is available to guide a more in-depth “before, during, and after” learning experience when viewing the video with students. This lesson plan is also suitable for use in after-school programs and other educational settings.

Fun Page Activity: What advice would you give someone being bullied? It may not be as simple as it seems! Practice being an advice columnist in this simple fun-page activity.