Managing Your Life in a World Full of Moods

You live in a world full of moody people. Everyone has a mood. Everyone is in a mood. You hear things like, "Are you in a  bad mood?" or "Wow! You're in a good mood!" Moods are the color of life. Can you imagine a day without emotion? Sounds bland and drab.

You cannot control the mood of a person. There are times when you cannot change your own mood. However, there are some ways of dealing with negative individuals, those who seem to constantly have a downpour of negativity falling from the sky of their life. Celestine Chua, author of The Personal Excellence Blog offers some important tips for dealing with negativity of others.

The following tips were taken from Celestine's  blog. At the end of Celestine's tip, I will offer a comment or two (indicated by an asterisk *).

Tip #1: Don’t Engage in the Negativity

One thing I found is negative people tend to harp on the bad things and ignore the positive stuff. They also have a tendency to exaggerate issues they are facing, making their predicament seem a lot worse than it actually is.

The first time you converse with a negative individual, provide a listening ear and offer help if needed. Provide support – let him/her know he/she is not alone. However, be sure to draw a line somewhere. If the person keeps harping on the same problems even after the first few conversations, then it’s a sign to disengage. For starters, try to switch topics. If he/she goes into a negative swirl, let him/her continue, but don’t engage in the negativity. Give a simple reply, such as “I see” or “Okay”. Whereas if he/she is being positive, reply in affirmation and enthusiasm. When you do it often enough, he/she will soon realize what’s going on, and will start to be more positive in his/her communication.
                                                     
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* There are times when we are negative AND FOR DANG GOOD REASONS TOO! Negative is not bad. Sometimes life is not a positive experience. We can admit that. We can talk about it. Yes, we can be negative. I have never advocated a perpetual "Wink Martindale" smile. As my Papaw used to say, "It just ain't natural!" This post is not concerned about negative moments, rather it offers workable  tips for dealing with negative people; those who have the perpetual scowl of ventriloquist Jeff Dunham's puppet "Walter". Next Post...Hang out in Groups.