Man is that he MIGHT have joy

I have a friend who is a pathological pessimist. You have heard the saying, “The optimist sees the glass as half full. The pessimist sees the glass as half full.” She takes it to a whole new level. She sees the missing tablespoon from the glass. If the glass is clear full, she complains that it will become empty ,or someone wanted it to be empty, or she doesn’t like the glass itself.

I have been pondering how to help her. She is difficult to be around, but she is making herself sick.

I have tried patiently listening. I have tried agreeing with her complaints, but pointing out the positive. I have tried disagreeing. Nothing seems to work. She seems hardwired to find the negative in every situation.


I pulled these gems from Susanne Gaddis, So how can one curb a pessimistic attitude? Again, the first step is to recognize that you that you have one. The next step is to train your brain to accept a more positive outlook. This is achieved by taking inventory of your internal dialogue or self-talk. Begin to notice the 1000 to 3000 words per minute you speak to yourself. When your thoughts are not of use or of benefit to you, tell yourself, “CANCEL.” When you start this process you may need to say “Cancel,” a lot. Because your brain will continue to dialogue with itself, the next step is to substitute positive, affirming messages. In time, by stopping negative self-talk and by substituting with positive thoughts, you can develop a better outlook, leading to better relationships which will yield you a better life.



How do you help someone to see the positive? John Maxwell said, ‘Life is ten percent of what happens to me and ninety percent of how I react to it” Similarly, someone said, “Ninety percent of me is good and ten percent of me is bad. If you choose to focus on the 90%, we will be happy. If you choose to focus on the ten percent, you will be miserable.”


Joseph Smith, “Man is that he might have joy.” MIGHT. It is a choice.