Contaminated people do not come in just one shape or size, they are many, they are varied, and they are armed with tricks. Contaminated people are out for the kill. They do not care about your desires, your dreams, and they certainly don't care about your feelings.

If contaminated people came in one or two forms, it would be easier for you to recognize them. It would be easier for you to rid them from your life. No such luck.

The Two-Faced Foe

You know them, oh, do you know them. They are lovely to your face, supportive, encouraging, and helpful — until you turn your back. Then they go in for the kill. They talk about you to anyone who will give them an ear, even if you have given them no reason to soil your reputation. They will tell you one thing to your face and change the story quicker than lightning. The two-faced foe is dangerous because he or she can make you believe that you are at fault.

The Mean Manipulator

When you're around them, you feel as muddled as a jigsaw puzzle and Lincoln Logs mixed together. You don't know what is true or false, what is right or wrong, and what is real or fantasy. They like it that way. They use you and can turn any situation in their favor, usually at your expense. They seem on the up-and-up at times, but they are sly and coy and work late into the night thinking of ways to get something for nothing. They are dangerous because they can steal your time, energy, and talent and use it to their benefit.

The Laid-Back Liar

They should be in show business because they are so good at faking it and telling stories that are not true. The Laid-Back Liar can, and will, look you straight in the face and pretend that all is well and before you know it, you're a victim. You're a victim of receiving a lie, or you're a victim of a lie. Either way, the liar uses half-truths, untruths, and just plain false information to make the world slant his way. The liar is dangerous because he or she can make your life miserable and, in some instances, get you fired, cause you to lose friends, and produce havoc in your everyday life.

The Negative Pessimist

Could it be worse? Well, actually, yes! It can — and is — and it is never going to get any better! Just spend one hour in the presence of the Negative Pessimist and you'll see how gloomy and dark the universe can be. The pessimist is always negative and never finds the bright spot in anything. He or she can look at the most positive situation that has happened in years and turn it into doom instantaneously. The Negative Pessimist is dangerous because he or she can spread the feeling of darkness around, and you can catch it.

The Sexist, Racist, Ageist, Homophobic, Ethnocentrist

You know them. They are the ones who tell the off-color joke at the water cooler and then follow it up with, “You know I'm just kidding.” They never are. Secretly, they are “against” anyone not like them. They are dangerous because they can, and do, spread their venom around, usually cloaked as humor or someone else's opinion.

The Amoral Abomination

Nothing is sacred. The Amoral Abomination would sell the rubber tip off his or her grandmother's cane if it meant getting ahead or keeping himself out of trouble. They have no scruples, no values, no ethical guidelines, and no center of decent living. They are dangerous because they are weak and will use you in any way possible, morally or immorally, to get what they want.

The Best Buddy Backstabber

With friends like these … you know the rest. He or she is your friend until something goes wrong. He or she will literally and figuratively stick a knife in your back and then swear that someone else was at fault. They work to undermine your progress and success. They are dangerous to you because of their high degree of betrayal.

The Mad, Angry Hatter

They are prone to temper fits, outbursts, and even physical rage. One moment things are fine and the next instant, they are in a violent rage. They not only have a temper, but they are temperamental. You never know what sets them off. One day they are fine with X and the next day, X is the thing that causes them to erupt. They are dangerous because of the physical violence and the threat they cause.

The Verbally Abusive, Demeaning Devil

We all know that you do not have to yell and scream to be verbally abusive. The abuse can come from a single, quiet word, but it can also come from uncontrollable rants. It can be as blatant as, “You're the stupidest person with whom I've ever worked,” to something as subtle as, “You know, you almost did well with that presentation this afternoon.” They are dangerous because if you are around them long enough, they can harm your self-esteem and make you doubt your own abilities.

The Jealous Joker

Jealously is at the heart of contaminated people. You have something that they want, and usually they want it so badly, they will destroy you in order to get it, or at least make sure you do not have it. They never understand that if they would work toward the goal, they might get it, too. They never see the work of others; they only see what others have and that drives them to blindness. They are not supportive of your efforts to better yourself. They are dangerous because they use almost any tactic in the book to get what they want.

The Cowardly Creep

This is the person that you may not have initially seen as contaminated because they are not bad or vindictive, they simply stand for nothing. They are contaminated because you can't count on them for anything. You can't rely on their constructive criticism, their judgment, or their advice because it changes with the wind. They are dangerous because they do not have enough courage to defend themselves or you.

The Superior Sick-O

No one on the earth, or in the universe for that matter, is better at anything than them. If you have a new Cadillac, they have a new Bentley. If you got a promotion at work to vice president, they were promoted to CEO. If you plant a new flower garden, they buy a flower shop. They always see themselves as better, more important, smarter, richer, and more worthy than you. They are dangerous because they can make you feel like you have to compete with them or make you feel as if you'll never measure up.

The Expert at Everything

They have a lot in common with the Superior Sick-O. Instead of having everything, they know everything. From brain surgery to nuclear rocketry, they are experts. You've probable worked with one or two of them over the years. Nothing you do, even if it is excellent, is as good as they could have done it. They are dangerous because if you are around them long enough, you will stop trying to be creative and ingenious because it never matters to the expert.

If you are involved with one or more of the types of people I've described, it is time to identify how they are contaminating your life and what steps you need to confront them or eliminate them from your life.