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Adults are sharing things a teacher said or did to them that they've never forgotten

The power of a teacher's words and deeds should never be underestimated.

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Photo credit: Canva

Teachers have a lasting influence throughout our lives.

Few people in our lives have the powerful influence of teachers, for better or worse. During our formative years, feedback from educators and mentors can build our confidence or crush our spirits, make us believe in our abilities, or fill us with self-doubt.

The messages we get from teachers often follows us into adulthood. When those messages are positive, that can be the voices inside our head telling us we're capable and not to give up. When the messages are negative, it can create internal obstacles we have to struggle to overcome.

People on Reddit are answering the question, "What did a teacher say or do to you that you've never forgotten?" and the answers are a testament to the immense responsibility teachers have when it comes to their words and deeds. While there are some painful recollections of uncaring or insensitive teachers, most are a reminder of how many teachers go out of their way to make a positive difference in students' lives.

Support through family issues

"My parents had just divorced and they shared custody of us. When my mother had us, she wouldn't feed us, send us a lunch, bathe or groom us so we'd show up to school tired, hungry, and dirty. When my 1st-grade teacher figured out what was going on, she started keeping a brush and wipes for me in her desk along with lunch money. She'd take me aside before other kids showed up and groom me and feed me. That was about 35 years ago and I still think about her all the time. Ironically, her name was Mrs. Severe. What a beautiful soul. I really needed that maternal care that she gave me." – Temporary-Author-641

"I became quite close with one of my band teachers in high school and viewed him as a father figure in many ways. My parents were freshly divorced, and i was floundering without a male role model at all (my father never made attempts to see me). The teacher noticed some changes in me and figured out the story. All it took was a sincere, eyeball-to-eyeball statement of 'I believe in you. You are better than you realize.' And the sun shone brighter, and the clouds parted a bit. When he retired, I made sure to go to his final school concert, and we caught up. It was amazing, but then i saw his wife of several decades. I walked over and introduced myself and thanked her for sacrificing their time together for all those years so he could be someone that his students needed in their lives. We both started crying and hugged.

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Rizzo. You are better than you will ever realize." – woodworkLIdad

woman holding a cat

Teachers can make a difference outside of the classroom, too.

Photo by Mel Elías on Unsplash

Care and compassion

"Once on the way to school, I found a kitten and couldn't leave it behind. It was dirty, hungry, and in need of help. I had to take it with me to school. At that moment, my parents were against me having a pet... and so, after school, as I sat there crying and not knowing what to do with the kitten, my teacher approached me. She calmed me down and took the kitten with her. After that, she sometimes brought him to class. This way, we continued to communicate. She named him Inkblot. As far as I know, he lived until he was 17. I will always remember this act, as she didn't break my little heart and saved the cute kitten. Double Shot." – Wooden-Ranger-8765

"'I know there’s a senior party tonight, if any of you can’t drive at any point during the night you can call me for a ride and I’ll take you home. I won’t tell your parents or get you in trouble, I just don’t want anyone drinking and driving." — Senior biology teacher." – chateauboxer777

Understanding mental health struggles

"My freshmen science teacher noticed I was starting to have a panic attack, wrote me a note to go to my counselor and then I left to do so. He was my favorite teacher, I failed almost everything but had the best grade in his class. I will never forget that man, the teacher can make all the difference in a student's work." – bigshark276473827

"I had to miss the last 2 months of my sophomore year of high school because I went into an eating disorder treatment program, and had to spend the whole summer making up my classes. My chemistry teacher offered to meet me weekly at the local coffee shop so that she would still be able to actually teach me and make sure I understood the material (as opposed to just teaching myself out of the book like I had to do with the rest of my classes). Graduated college with a bachelors in chemistry 6 years after that." – caffa4

"In high school I was the class clown always made people laugh and was there for them. I put up a front 'the happy and cheeriest one' but I was struggling so bad with mental health issues, hated life and myself. Borderline suicidal. Anyway, one day, when I was telling a joke and 'laughing' with everyone, this one teacher took me aside and said, 'You’re such a joy to everyone, but I can see the pain in your eyes. Your place in this world matters and would be so much poorer without you. Don’t give up'. Well god damn I thought I was so good at hiding it from everyone. And it kind of broke me that someone could tell. But yea a moment I’ll never forget." – Sarkeshikian

Memorable words of wisdom

"'You’re not a good liar. You shouldn’t do it'…Probably the most useful lesson I learned in all school before college." – witblacktype

"'Those who do not have the talent can compensate for it with diligence.' It was a reply to a worry I had, and he was right." – mochi_chan

"'What good is going to the church every week if you just gonna go home and abuse your kids?' This was said during a religion class in Ireland secondary school." – timchenw

"'Get out before you get stuck.' It was simple wisdom from my 12th grade English teacher that I repeat in my mind quite often. I think he was referring to getting out of our small town, but it rings true for many things in life." – RemarkableBeach1603

"'I don't know but I can find out' - my physics teacher Mr. Gould. It's a little thing but it really stuck with me. You don't have to know everything and you don't have to appear like you do either." – DarkflowNZ
teacher standing in front of a class of students

Some teachers aren't as nurturing as others.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

The ones you had to prove wrong

"'You won't achieve anything in your life.' I am now an engineer. Every time I was studying I thought about this sentence and it motivated me to be better and work harder to prove him wrong. Even today, every time something is tuff in my life I go over it and remember this sentence, I have to prove him wrong." – No_Comment_50

"My science teacher told my parents I 'didn't belong in her class' when I was 13. It was an accelerated class and I finished the year top of her class. Still not sure whether she was a dumb cow or an evil genius." – Rosserman

"I remember in my penultimate year of school, my English teacher told my mum in a parent teacher meeting that I should drop to the lower class because hers was too advanced for me. I chose to stay in it out of spite and ended up being one of the top students in my year 🤷♀️" – tlaxette

"Ms. Fowler. My 11th grade math teacher. Told us early on in the school year, 'if you don't understand something the first time I go over it, it's because you weren't paying attention, and I will not waste my time repeating myself.' As someone who struggles with math, I learned the hard way that she meant it. I tried and tried and tried, but I just couldn't get it and she was never any help. Ended up giving up. Just putting random answers to assignments and tests. Flunked out of the class. Think my final grade was in the 20s. Was given the option to pay $150 and go to summer school where I'd just do assignments until I got a passing grade, likely have the same teacher as well. Or, flunk out, repeat the class as a senior and graduate on a lesser plan. I took option B and felt like a failure.

On the flip side. Senior year I got a new math teacher, Mr. Kerr. My grade never went under a 90 in his class. I understood things I never did the year prior. Even got decent at trigonometry. He built a confidence in me I never knew I could have." – Klown1327

The ones who believed and encouraged

"I love to sew. I have been sewing since I was a kid. In high school, I took a sewing class as an extra and was miles ahead of the other students. I made a grey, wool, floor length cloak with a red lining while everyone else was making pajama pants. My teacher graded me according to my skill and not compared to the other students. Then she found me a year later and showed me a pic in a catalog of a Renaissance-style dress she thought I'd like. It was a wedding dress but I loved it anyway. My mom took me fabric shopping and the next semester I took that class again and made the dress. My teacher stayed in with me during lunches, after school, during study periods, and guided me through making that dress. She even helped tackle the challenge of gathering many layers of heavy silk and jacquard and linings, tapping into every trick she knew to get it to work. (Zig zag stitch over dental floss finally did it.) Then she graded me according to my skill set. I got a 94. Dinged for some less than perfect hand stitching on the hem.

I then put it on and ran over to my favorite science teacher's classroom to show her (I took biology, anatomy and physiology, ap bio, and ap anatomy and physiology from her—huge science nerd here) and she stopped her class so I could get up on a desk and show off my dress.

8 years later... I wore that dress to get married. They were both at my wedding (as well as my 7th and 8th grade English teacher) and singled out as honored guests along with the moms and grandmas as people who were highly influential to me. I will never forget their support and encouragement and dedication to their craft that has inspired me for all my life. I'm 43 now. I was an x-ray tech for 20 years and I still sew regularly." – Routine-Register-575


"5th grade teacher, Mrs. W. I doodled and drew a lot as a kid. I’d finish my work, flip the page over, and cover the back with drawings. Most teachers didn’t mind as long as the work was finished, but Mrs. W loved my drawings. I’d recently gotten a 'how to draw dragons' book and kept drawing a specific one over and over to improve. She asked me one day to draw her one on a blank sheet of paper, and after I was finished, asked me to sign it, because, 'You’re going to be a famous artist one day and I want to have a signed copy of one of your original pictures!'

It was such a small thing, but it made me feel really good. She ended up passing away relatively suddenly from cancer when I was a sophomore in college, going to school for 3D art. She was on my mind during the portfolio review at the end of the term. I wished I could’ve shown her some of the art I’d created. She crosses my mind a couple of times a year ever since and I always get teary-eyed thinking about her." – soap-bucket

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Innovation

Ontario teen says he'll live in 'modular home' invention for a year to prove it can end homelessness

He's already invented a wooden car.

ideas, homelessness, prodigy, social work, solutions
Photo credit: @ribalzebian on Instagram

Ribal Zebian is going to test a house he designed by living in it for a year.

Ribal Zebian, a student from the city of London in Ontario, Canada, already made headlines last year when he built an electric car out of wood and earned a $120,000 scholarship from it. Now, he's in the news again for something a little different. Concerned with homelessness in his hometown, Zebian got to work creating a different kind of affordable housing made from fiberglass material. In fact, he’s so confident in his idea that the 18-year-old plans on living in it for a year to test it out himself.

Currently an engineering student at Western University, Zebian was concerned by both the rising population of the unhoused in his community and the rising cost of housing overall. With that in mind, he conjured up a blueprint for a modular home that would help address both problems.

Zebian’s version of a modular home would be made of fiberglass panels and thermoplastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam. He chose those materials because he believes they can make a sturdy dwelling in a short amount of time—specifically in just a single day.

“With fiberglass you can make extravagant molds, and you can replicate those,” Zebian told CTV News. “It can be duplicated. And for our roofing system, we’re not using the traditional truss method. We’re using actually an insulated core PET foam that supports the structure and structural integrity of the roof.”

Zebian also believes these homes don’t have to be purely utilitarian—they can also offer attractive design and customizable features to make them personal and appealing.

“Essentially, what I’m trying to do is bring a home to the public that could be built in one day, is affordable, and still carries some architecturally striking features,” he said to the London Free Press. “We don’t want to be bringing a house to Canadians that is just boxy and that not much thought was put into it.”

Beginning in May 2026, Zebian is putting his modular home prototype to the test by living inside of a unit for a full year with the hope of working out any and all kinks before approaching manufacturers.

“We want to see if we can make it through all four seasons- summer, winter, spring, and fall,” said Zebian. “But that’s not the only thing. When you live in something that long and use it, you can notice every single mistake and error, and you can optimize for the best experience.”

While Zebian knows that his modular homes aren't a long-term solution to either the homeless or housing crisis, he believes they could provide an inexpensive option to help people get the shelter they need until certain policies are reformed so the unhoused can find affordable permanent dwellings.

@hard.knock.gospel

What to buy for the homeless at the grocery store. 🛒 Most people get it wrong. After being there myself, these are the survival items that actually matter 💯 The 2nd to last one is about more than survival—it’s about DIGNITY. We are all one circumstance away from the same shoes 🙏 SAVE this for your next grocery run. 📌 IG@hardknockgospel Substack@ Outsiders_Anonymous #homelessness #helpingothers #kindness #payitforward #learnontiktok

Zebian’s proposal and experiment definitely inspires others to try to help, too. If you wish to lend a hand to the unhoused community in your area in the United States, but don’t know where to look, you can find a homeless shelter or charity near you through here. Whether it’s through volunteering or through a donation, you can help make a difference.

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An NFL reporter was criticized for consoling the losing coach, then fans came out to defend her

"You can call me fake all you want to, honey. I’ve been doing this a long time.”

reporters, journalists, tv, press conference, NFL, football, sports, coach, kindness, humanity
Photo credit: Canva

A reporter gave an NFL coach a pep talk after a loss, sparking a firestorm of criticism.

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven't won a playoff game in three years, and have just a handful of postseason victories in their short history. They have never been to a Super Bowl, making them just one of four teams in the NFL never to do so. That's why, after fielding one of the franchise's best teams in years, their latest quick playoff exit was a hard one for fans and the team itself to swallow. It was heartbreaking and gut-wrenching for nearly everyone in the Jacksonville area.

After suffering a narrow defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills this past weekend, head coach of the Jaguars Liam Coen took the podium to answer questions and accept accountability for the loss. Business as usual, despite how demoralized he was feeling.

One of the questions, however, was far from the usual fare. A Jacksonville Free Press associate editor named Lynn Jones-Turpin raised her hand and chose to use her time to give the coach words of encouragement instead of a hardball question.

"I’m going to tell you, congratulations on your success, young man," she said. "You hold your head up. You guys have had a most magnificent season. You did a great job out there today. You just hold your head up, OK? Ladies and gentlemen, Duval. You keep it going. We got another season. Much continued success to you and the entire team."

The warm, rousing words had a visible effect on Coen, who began beaming while nodding gracefully. "Thank you, ma'am," he said with genuine appreciation.

Talk about a legendary pep talk. You can watch the roughly 30-second moment here:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The brief interaction was picked up by national sports reporters and celebrated as a wholesome moment of compassion between two professionals.

Adam Schefter of ESPN called it an "awesome" moment. His post highlighting the interview got nearly 20 million views on X.

Commenters found the compassionate exchange extremely refreshing coming from the usually cutthroat world of sports, where reporters and coaches spar and trade passive-aggressive barbs. They're often pitted against each other as enemies, with reporters seeking transparency and accountability and coaches just wanting to be left alone to coach. Coen and Jones-Turpin broke the mold—for one afternoon at least.

"Whoever she works for needs to give her a raise. We need more people like this in the world!" one wrote.

"This really is wonderful. It’s fun watching his facial gyrations while she talks to him like an aunty. You can see the kid in the man. Wonderful."

"Epically classy from that reporter. Not the finish they wanted, but this squad showed heart all year."

"This healed me and I’m not even a Jags fan" someone added.

While not strictly professional, the moment between Coen and Jones-Turpin was a rare thing of beauty. But that didn't stop the curmudgeons from questioning the reporter's professionalism and journalistic integrity.

Many fans (notably, of non-Jaguars teams) and members of legacy media were quick to point out that a reporter consoling a coach after a loss is not a good display of journalism ethics.

Hosts on Fox News Sports Radio said, "This is a No-No. She sounds like a fan."

Jemele Hill, a writer for The Atlantic, wrote on X, " It’s literally the first lesson you learn — you aren’t a fan. You can love sports. You can be a fan of competition and games. But you are absolutely not a fan," while expressing distaste at how Jones-Turpin handled the interaction.

AP reporter Mark Long, in a now deleted post, called the question "embarrassing" and questioned Jones-Turpin' credentials, calling her "fake news."

The back and forth between supporters appreciative of her words and people looking for journalists to hold a hard line in the sand became quite a kerfuffle in social media, racking up millions and millions of interactions.

Lynn Jones-Turpin was finally given a chance to respond in an interview on local Jacksonville news, and she defended herself beautifully: By not feeling the need to defend herself at all.

"It was just an overwhelming day. I can tell you that this entire city, this town, our team, our city, and our coach, we were overwhelmed. ... Coach came out, and he was just... emotions. He was totally immersed in his feelings. He had tears, he bit his lip."

She then had a chance to address her critics head on. "I don't take no offense to it. Listen, I've been in this business more than 25 years. I've interviewed from Barack Obama to Terry Bradshaw to Tiger Woods. He can say whatever he wants about fake news. I am a member of the Black Press," she said, adding that Black-run newspapers like hers have been around for longer than most modern media outlets. "Support the Black Press. You can call me fake all you want to, honey. I’ve been doing this a long time.”

Adding more context, journalist Phil Lewis writes, "The Black Press never agreed to conform to the mainstream media’s ideal of 'objectivity.' In fact, the first Black newspaper aimed to distinguish itself from other newspapers of its time. This is not to say the pursuit of truth isn’t important, but realizing that 'objectivity' has always reinforced white worldviews."

Jones-Turpin then joked that she was the new "grandma" or "auntie" of the team.

Especially after her earnest appearance and non-apologetic attitude for her approach, the support for Jones-Turpin has been far louder than the criticism.

In a way, coaches and the reporters who cover their teams are coworkers. They interact on a near daily basis, and while they butt heads frequently, they both do what they do out of a shared love for the sport and even for the city they work for.

The game is ultimately just a game, but the emotions and real-life stakes are very real.

When emotions are high, who's to say they're not allowed a brief moment of humanity and compassion for one another? There are far worse things happening in the world—that much is for certain.

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Mom realizes she's been using the 'heavy' setting on her washer wrong for years—and fellow moms are shook

"Today years old when I realize why my blankets are sopping wet."

washer, washing machine setting, how to use washing machine, laundry, laundry tips
Image courtesy of @granolabarpan/Instagram (with permission)

Stay-at-home mom Catrina shares shock at learning what the 'heavy' setting on her washer means.

Knocking out loads of laundry is a feeling of accomplishment that is unmatched. Depending on what needs to be washed, washing machines offer a variety of settings for the ideal clean. But even the most seasoned laundry pros can admit that they don't fully understand how to use them properly.

One stay-at-home mom shared her funny and relatable washing machine mistake. Catrina (@granolabarpan) got the shock of a lifetime when she realized that she had been using the "heavy" setting on her washer wrong for years.

"POV: today years old when it clicks why my blankets are sopping wet!!! I thought HEAVY meant heavy items being washed," she wrote in the video's overlay.

"Heavy on my machine means heavily soiled," she went on to add in the comments. "I thought it meant the stuff I was putting in the machine was heavy in weight/pounds."

Some moms are also realizing this for the first time. "Ok.. so I am 66 years old learning this???!! I always thought that heavy meant weight also😂," one person commented. Another person wrote, "Well I was today years old when I learned what heavy meant too…😂"

Others expressed confusion with so many settings, and reminiscing on simpler times. "Wait a minute. 😂. I think I need to for once go and read the manual because I have been wondering about all of the options," another user wrote. And another chimed in, "I want my old $250 3 options hot/warm/cold on/off washer back. It didn’t die it rusted out but took 25yrs to do it. I had 5 kids, plus my ex in-laws living with me."

Washing machine settings, explained

Struggling to understand the settings on your washing machine? You're not alone.

"Knowing these settings helps avoid common laundry mistakes, such as using the heavy cycle for heavy fabric weight instead of heavy soil, which can lead to ineffective cleaning or damage over time," Vanessa Ruiz, a professional organizer at Sparkly Maid San Antonio, tells Upworthy.

These are five washing machine settings and how they work:

1. Normal/Regular Cycle
Ruiz explains that this is your typical setting for day-to-day loads such as t-shirts, jeans, sheets, and underwear.

"These laundry loads are typically washed in warm water and the setting is rinsed with medium spin speeds through agitation in order to properly clean moderately soiled garments," she says. "This cycle is safe enough to wash a variety of different fabric content with a somewhat dirty load."

2. Delicate/Gentle Cycle
Ruiz notes that the delicate cycle is created specifically for delicate fabrics—lingerie, silk, lace, or embellished clothing—that may become damaged in a normal or regular wash.

"This cycle will use moderate spin speeds through gentle agitation to thoroughly dry clean and not damage clothes too easily," says Ruiz. "This is the preferred cycle when laundry items that require extra care or are labeled 'delicate' or 'hand wash' need to be washed."

3. Heavy Duty Cycle
The heavy duty cycle is specifically for heavily soiled items like work clothes, kitchen towels, and bedding.

"This setting uses higher water temperatures, longer wash times, and powerful agitation to remove stubborn dirt and grime. It’s perfect for those tough laundry jobs, but not recommended for delicate fabrics," explains Ruiz.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

4. Bulky/Bedding Cycle
This cycle is often confused with "heavy."

"This cycle accommodates larger, heavier items that absorb a lot of water, such as comforters, pillows, and sleeping bags," says Ruiz. "It uses more water, medium spin speeds, and longer wash times to thoroughly clean bulky items without causing damage or imbalance."

5. Quick Wash
In a rush? This is the perfect setting to use.

"It is an accelerated wash cycle designed for small loads of lightly soiled clothes, usually lasting 15 to 40 minutes," says Ruiz. "It’s great for when you need clean clothes fast and can save energy compared to longer cycles."

This article originally appeared last year.

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The 'honk if you…' bumper sticker sparks spirited debate about what honking really means

"I am almost 80 and have never heard the second interpretation. That is ridiculous."

honk bumper sticker, bumper sticker, driving, car honking, internet debate, car horn
Photo credit: Canva, aleksandrkondratov (left, cropped) / rofapic (text box) / Aflo Images from アフロ（Aflo) (right, cropped)

What does the honking mean in a "honk if you..." bumper sticker?

Novelty bumper stickers come in many varieties: proud displays of solidarity, cultural and political co-signs, and even unhinged silliness. But if you ask someone to name a famous example, there's a good chance they'll choose one that starts with the phrase "Honk if you…"

What exactly are these stickers trying to express, though? If one reads "Honk if you love dogs," does honking simply mean you also love dogs? Apparently there are two very different schools of thought, and dozens of people went online to debate how we should be interpreting these seemingly simple messages.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Fandom or snark?

"So what I've heard is that those 'honk if you like ice cream🍦' license plates can be read two different ways," one user wrote on Reddit. "1. The idea is that this person is broadcasting that they like this particular thing a lot. 2. It's kind of a joke that they're going to ignore you honking at them, because you must just be responding to the bumper sticker, not saying they're a bad driver. It's meant to be kinda snarky."

The responses seem roughly split 50/50, with tons of people expressing their shock in both directions. Here are some of the top comments:

"Not sure if it's bulls--- or not but I have never until this moment considered option 2"

"I am almost 80 and have never heard the second interpretation. That is ridiculous."

"I always thought of it the first way, it was recently explained to me to be the second—I forget which show I was watching, maybe Gilmore Girls, and she was doing an experiment to honk at people who have 'honk if you like _____' stickers and the drivers would get mad at her for honking. So she was theorizing that people who have those types of bumper stickers don't actually want you to honk at them. Which I guess makes it option two in reality and that's the joke."

honking, car honking, car horn, honk debate, bumper sticker Someone honks a car horn. Photo credit: Canva, rattanakun

"Yeah I always took it the first way. 'I like ice cream and I want to get excited about it with other people who also like ice cream!' And I always thought it was stupid. Never even considered it the other way, which is also stupid."

"I've never considered it to be anything other than a person broadcasting their fandom."

"I always thought it was just a poll type thing until recently lol I learned of the #2 option. So bizarre"

"That's correct. It's meant to be interpreted the second way. It's a joke that if they are honking at you for driving poorly, you will ignore and assume they like pizza or whatever the sticker says."

"I think this is historical revisionism. I never heard definition #2 until a couple years ago. I've always taken it as definition #1."

"Hi. I have always seen the 2nd interpretation, because the first one makes no sense. Honking is not like making small talk in line at the grocery. Nobody wants every car to honk at each other to communicate their likes and dislikes."

"I've only seen the second explanation on social media in the last few months, which leads me to believe it's another TikTok originating thing along the lines of trying to redefine what '9 to 5' means."

@ellaellaw

Replying to @WILL (hozier’s version)

"It took me a really long time to grasp"

As for the TikTok mention, that user could be referring to a viral post from content creator Ella, who explained the second interpretation. "It took me a really long time to grasp," they said. "It's more like a 'ha, the joke's on you' from the car that you're honking at with that sticker on."

Thousands of other users weighed in with their reactions, including many instances of the popular response "WHAT?"

On a related note, lots of people have recently experienced a "today years old" learning moment related to a specific "honk" bumper sticker. In a Reddit thread, one user admitted, "I just realized the phrase 'honk if you're horny' is a pun about horns," and they weren't the only one making that realization. "I even hear this phrase a lot," someone added, "but never made the connection."

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Communication expert shares 3-step reset method for dealing with extremely negative people

Some folks live to rain on your parade.

negativity, thumbs down, man in suit, judgement, no good, bad
via Canva/Photos

A man giving a big thumbs down.

Everyone has that person in their life who casts everything in a negative light. You go out for a great meal, only to hear them complain about the service. They never highlight anyone's positive qualities, just their faults, and the only joy they seem to get comes from putting down the things you love.

It's like they are programmed to be antagonistic about absolutely everything. The problem is that, whether they're friends, family members, or co-workers, we're stuck dealing with people who drain our energy and have a knack for ruining a good time.

Fortunately for us, communication expert Jefferson Fisher recently shared a three-step reset method on YouTube for dealing with these impossible people. Fisher, who has become massively popular on social media, offers tips "to help people argue less and talk more."


How to deal with negative people

Here is Fisher's three-step reset method for dealing with negative energy:

1. Don't absorb the negativity

"Don't absorb what they said," Fisher says. "Instead, we're going to call it out. You're going to say it out loud. That means when you claim it, you control it. Meaning, you control your own reactions to it. That's the takeaway there."

Examples include:

"This feels tense."

"This feels heated."

"I'm sensing some negativity."

2. Call out the truth, not the tone

"When that happens to the negative energy, you're going to send it right back by having them repeat it," he says. "How? It's very similar to how I recommend handling insults. See, they can't repackage it in the same way again when you ask them to repeat it the same way. They can't say it the same way. Then they just look terrible."

@arnaldo.sifre

Master Negative Energy_ React to Truth, Not Tone Discover the simple but powerful technique Jefferson Fisher uses to stop negative energy without arguing or escalating. Instead of reacting to someone’s tone, you focus on the truth behind their words. The method? ➡️ Ask them to repeat what they said. Most passive-aggressive people cannot package their negativity the same way twice. When they repeat it, the tone weakens and the truth comes out. If it’s still negative, calmly ask again: “I need you to say that again—better.” This forces clarity, removes hostility, and shifts the power back to you. Stop reacting to tone. Start uncovering truth. Transform every interaction starting today. #fyp #CommunicationSkills #JeffersonFisher #ConfidenceTips #EmotionalIntelligence #StopNegativity #PassiveAggressive #BetterConversations #MindsetMatters #HealthyBoundaries #LifeSkills #SpeakUp #PersonalGrowth #RelationshipSkills #foryourpage

3. Protect your presence

"You cannot control another person's mood," he adds. "You cannot make somebody happier. That is their choice. … Big takeaway: you are making sure that your mind acknowledges the negative energy, but it neither matches it nor tries to attach to it. That's the difference. That's how you handle the negative energy."

Here's the whole video:

- YouTube youtu.be

Why are some people so negative?

A primary reason some people are overwhelmingly negative is that they are extremely fearful and hyperfocus on the negative aspects of life.

"In brief, almost all negativity has its roots in one of three deep-seated fears: the fear of being disrespected by others, the fear of not being loved by others, and the fear that 'bad things' are going to happen," Raj Raghunathan, PhD, writes in Psychology Today.

Humans also have a negativity bias, which means we're more primed to respond to negative than positive stimuli. That's why we remember insults far more often than praise and are more likely to recall negative moments than positive ones.

Why all the negativity? It's a survival technique. People who can detect danger and harmful situations are much more likely to survive than those who focus on the positive. Unfortunately, we sometimes have to make a conscious effort to see the good in the world.

Even though negative people can be a burden to be around, taking Fisher's advice and refusing to let them affect our presence can turn them into a reminder to reset and refocus on the positive in life.

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