IN recent times, I have become a lot more aware of small-minded people that we all sometimes feel surrounded by.

These are the people that can’t see beyond their own lives, their own family problems and their own TV schedules to actually see what is going on in the world.

They are the people who usually begin their conversations with “her friend’s sister’s cousin twice-removed just did this” and then the other small-minded people around them nod along with actual interest.

These kinds of people kinda scare me, because it is kind of like that you will never be able to break through that barrier from them and the real world.

They don’t know what is happening in the world but they can tell you who is going to win the X Factor. And then on the rare occasion that they do actually know what is happening in the news, I can almost guarantee you that it will be the negative stuff.

But tsunamis would not be equal to the celebrity nude photo-leak scandal.

Even though a lot of the time these people do not have a lot going on in their lives, they will make a big deal out of everything.

Everything that involves them leaving the house is a big thing to be discussed over tea.

These people love putting others down. They will never thrive in anyone else’s success. They will find your weakness and exploit it, just like they have seen the people on the soaps do.

Once they think that you have made a move against them, or a close blood relation of yours has, they will never speak to you again.

Soon you are just another topic to be discussed over Sunday lunch.

These people actually do have a positive purpose in our lives. I think that instead of being dragged down with them, we should rise up above them. Don’t stoop down to their level.

These people don’t believe in having dreams, just don’t let them crush yours.

Follow Zoë O’Connor on Twitter on @Zobo2402