 gingembre says: My favorite is #3: “Now tell me something positive.” I'm going to try to use this one--on other people and on myself. "Right after they've finished telling you some tragic story, say to them, "now tell me a positive story". Some people have no idea how negative they’ve become. That's what they're surrounded by day in and day out so it’s just become a way of life for them. By being given the reminder, they may actually realize that being negative isn't the kind of person they want to be and may start to work on becoming more positive. Or, they may decide it's not worth telling you their horror stories because you'll ask them to think of something positive. Sob sisters (always whining, feel the world is against them, feel they're victims) will probably not find you very attractive anymore." Some people go through life standing at the complaint counter. I'll add an 11th strategy. Tell them: "Ah, you're just trying to cheer me up." Good tips but it depends very much what role the negative person has in your life. It's not always easy to just smile or focus on the bright light when you have a very detailed involvement with someone who is very negative. I guess the way you deal with a negative person depends upon your own nature and whether or not you can change yourself enough to better withstand a negative person you cannot, or do not wish to, avoid. Before I became more outspoken (and irreverent) I internalized a lot of the negativity some of the people in my life exuded and was bummed out quite often. Over time I changed and began avoiding these people as much as possible instead of letting them drag me down. When I had to be around them I used two of the techniques mentioned in the clip--where's it coming from and smile and stay detached. More recently I've tried to lighten the mood by cracking a joke about the situation.... wish i could pop this a thousand times!! sounds like my coworker... here's the scenario: Any customer: "How are you?" Coworker: "Surviving." really?? just surviving?? things can't be that bad! I've tried to lighten the mood by cracking a joke about the situation. It may not help them but it does relieve stress building up in me due to their negativity.This is a strategy I live by. I see so much negative in my line of work that without it, I would probably just sink into a big hole of depression and I wouldn't be able to do my job. For me, laughter is definitely good if not the best medicine against it. |
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