The growth of Cynicism and Negativity and how to combat it with Optimism

I have written before about the seeming imbalance of articles on Medium since I started contributing. Ever since I wrote an article on Ukraine, I have been bombarded on a daily basis with articles about the war – in fact, at times, it appears as if there aren’t any other articles on there at all. There are of course but the danger in reading too many cynical accounts is that you risk becoming infected with their rhetoric. The ironic thing about most of them is that it is obvious that the writers are not situated in Ukraine, yet they claim to be fully informed and up-to-date on the conflict and they ‘reveal’ news on the war that is not available on general news platforms. I don’t wish to offend anyone but it is obvious that much of content of the stories is fabricated. Does no one check facts any more? The other worrying thing is the level of cynicism portrayed. OK, it is easy to be cynical about the horrors of war and the evil deeds perpetrated therein. My worry is the all pervasiveness of cynicism.

Let me digress a moment and give an example. There is an advertisement running on TV at the moment which typifies this attitude. A young man makes glove puppets modeled on three of his friends and presents them as gifts to them. Instead of thanking him, they reject the gifts and label him as being ‘too sweet,’ in other words, not cool. I know it’s just an ad but think about it – they guy has obviously done a huge amount of work to produce personalised gifts for his friends. Not only is it not appreciated, it is rejected and ridiculed. What sort of a message does that send? How cynical can you get?

I know it is a tough world and it is easy to be cynical or skeptical but we could all do with some more positivity. Some people seem to be infected with negativity. It’s like the old claim that news bulletins are always laden with bad news because bad news makes a greater impact than good news.

So, what can we do about it? Time to practice what I preach here ☺. I’ve always found it great to surround myself with positive people. For instance, I had a few beers last night with three guys who exude positivity. They are not immune to or unaware of the harsh twists and turns that life can throw at them, but their overriding emotion is positivity. This encounter has actually inspired me to write this article and to keep looking at the bright side of things. There are other people I could meet or mix with, who take a different view and it is easy to be cynical after an encounter. It can be argued that people have their own personalities and maybe cannot change? I take a different view. I believe that we all have both positive and negative emotions; all have equal amounts of cynicism and optimism. So it is up to us as to which range we give the most space to. If things go wrong and we are having a bad day, it is easy to give way to negative thoughts. But we need to be careful; too much negativity can lead us to depression.

We all encounter what we term as ‘negative’ people on a regular basis. Personally, I try to avoid them. I’m careful not to be rude but I find the best way to avoid stress is to let them vent, don’t comment and move on. If there are more negative people than positive in your space, whether it’s a work or personal space, my advice is to get out of there lest it infect you too. It may not be easy, particularly in a work situation but believe me, it’ll be worth it.

I think it was Barack Obama who advised people to do positive things which will create hope and ultimately fill the world with hope. I’m not sure what Barack had in mind but I’m not advocating anything major. The things I consider as positive are simple everyday actions that we all encounter, such as: holding a door for someone; a smile rather than a frown when dealing with a customer or a client; compliment someone; if you’re making a coffee, ask a colleague if they would like one; bring a cake into work; organize an evening out with work colleagues; make a contribution to a charity. I could go on and on but you get the picture. The more positive things we do, the happier we become. Sceptical? Don’t think it’ll work? Try it and see. At least if you have the option to be negative or positive, chose the latter. You may be surprised at the effect it has, not just on you and your own feelings but on those around you. Positivity can be contagious but so can negativity so try to look on the bright side.

I’m firmly convinced that people with positive outlooks are healthier physically as well as mentally, suffer fewer illnesses and live longer happier lives. So, what am I going to do personally? Well, I’m already doing it – I’m ignoring all the cynical articles that are sent to me and concentrating on the positive ones. Oh yes, and every time that bloody ad comes on TV, I change the channel. ☺