We aren’t born to be cynics.  We aren’t born to hate.  We aren’t born to look at the world in a negative way.  Yet sometimes, you come across someone who can make you think otherwise.

What do you think or feel when confronted with negative?  You may be tempted to respond in a like manner to how you are being treated.  When we are up against severe hatred, no amount of understanding and empathy can alter a persons mindset in most cases.  I wouldn’t suggest trying anything other than removing yourself from the situation if at all possible.

However, what about when the negative attitude or behavior is more subtle?  What if someone is just considered a negative person.  Someone who can never look on the bright side or who always has a hurtful or snide comment to make towards others. We may even fall victim to this negative behavior ourselves sometimes.  When we do, isn’t it usually because something negative, either recently or in our distant past makes us feel negative about a certain topic or situation?

I try to remember this when I come across a particularly negative person.  I think to myself, “What happened to you?  What happened in your past that makes you feel and act this way?”.  I use this as a way to “self-check” to make sure I don’t take what the person is doing or saying the wrong way.  Even if they say something outright negative about me.  I understand that they want me to hurt, because they hurt.

In most cases, if at all possible, I try to steer the conversation in a positive direction.  If I’m unable to do that, I simply remove myself from the situation.  If I can’t help others to positive in one instance, it doesn’t mean I’ve failed.  It simply means that I need to keep my positive intact so that I can share it again with others or even the same person / people at a later time.

Trust me, I’m no saint.  I have negative thoughts and feelings all of the time too.  I try to temper them by actively seeking out the positive of each situation whenever I can.  Doing this has helped me live a happy and fulfilling life, in spite of the negative I’m bombarded with on a daily basis.

I hope this post inspires you to do the same.  Please comment and share how you seek positive when confronted with a negative interaction.