Life wants to be as positive as possible, however it’s not very likely for anyone to avoid the negative. Avoid the negative when possible, but know how to handle the ‘negative’ when given little choice. How to handle negative people has one practical solution – avoid them and stay in a positive space. However, be prepared to best handle any negative exchange.
Pick a negative friend or person who’s really capable of being verbally negative, but short of very abusive. Let that person be a teacher on how to skillfully learn to keep positive under difficult mental challenges. Do not make that person your main connection of a friend, but position yourself no closer than you would to a bonfire. Keep a safe distance, but not one so far removed so as to have no challenge from the negative verbal heat. See it as developing reasonable tolerance and the skillful means to not lose yourself in the fray. Everyone has assets to offer that are good for you. If they resonate enough to keep the contact, be a student of how to focus on their positive side while on alert for their negativity.
The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. Why live as a pin cushion, and let everything painful stick in the memory, when the mind healed and strong in self love, will detach from the lingering memories that negatively affect the fresh moments at hand? Are we the only animal who dwells on the past? Do all animals live in the moment? If we are so evolved and able to choose our thoughts, why not choose to live in the moment?