Americans face an obesity crisis because of the lack of exercise, rest and, most important, proper nutrition. Yet, there is another factor that plays a critical role to physical decline. Most often, Americans are less likely to diet from one of their worst enemies: "Toxic people."

Toxic people come in all forms: associates, co-workers, close/distant relatives, spouses and even children. Too easily, Americans have allowed self-inhibiting practices to obligate themselves to people that actively seek or execute harm to them. Instead of "loving from a distance," we keep people too close to us and fail to discern the level of destruction taking place in our lives.

Toxic people can affect the way that we interact with other people. They can also have detrimental effects in the more important areas of our lives like home and work.The latter is an area that can have severe effects on the former. Feeling rejection or pain from toxic people can cause us to become reclusive and non-communicative. This does not bode well in work environments that thrive on collaboration (communicating ideas and resolution).

If we lose our jobs because he have allowed ourselves to be consumed by toxic people, then they have succeeded in their campaign of destruction. If we do not discern sooner, these toxic people, we will continue to repeat the cycles of failure and never amount to more. It will be a perpetual state of decline that will also manifest itself in our personal health.

The past couple of days have been eye-opening and mortifying at the same time. It is shocking to see how paralyzed I have been as a result of toxic people who were in my life for years. It has had some disturbing effects that has caused me to reassess the things in which I choose to entangle myself. If, I fail to jettison these distractions, the fallout could be disastrous.

Looking at this Omarosa and Trump debacle has been very telling in that they are both polarizing personalities fighting to occupy the minds of Americans and the world. Neither are willing to back down because they are two toxic people incapable of restraining themselves. Unfortunately, the American people, and its conscience, are the collateral damage to two kids treating America as their playground.

Similarly, people on both sides of the aisle wage campaigns of character assassination against one another. Allegiances to political parties has further toxified the environment and corrodes the last embers of decency in this country. Terms like liberals and conservatives has allowed, even the best of intentioned, people to become toxic in their daily interactions which further erodes our society.

No country can sustain this level of toxicity and remain on top. There are destructive ideologies immigrating its way into this country. But they pale in comparison to the toxic behaviors by Americans who are Black, White, Hispanic and Asian. There are three (3) critical questions we must ask ourselves:

• Who are the toxic people in my life?
• What are the toxic things in my life?
• How am I toxic to other people?