Complaints

I seldom waste a moment of my precious time on negative people but every once in a while one of them slips through my defences. Negative people are really and truly draining. I don't mean the occasional squawk or minor bitching but the sort of thing that goes on and on and on.

I firmly believe that we lengthen our lifespan by being around positive people. The more often you laugh, the longer you'll live. Or maybe the fun company just makes you feel more alive. Whichever, just show me a smiling face and I'll head in that direction.

Negative people will harp on about every ache and pain, every person who has ever slighted them, and then give you a list of their present problems. Nothing ever seems to go right for them. There is no joy in their lives. When they latch onto you, they want a sounding board and they want you to agree with them that they're being treated badly. I admit I "tsk, tsk" a lot because I don't want to hurt their feelings.

I've spent countless hours advising people like this to just stay away from people who hurt or irritate them but I sometimes wonder if negative people enjoy the negativity. It provides drama in their lives.

I don't shut many people out of my life and it takes a supreme crapover to make me do it. So I'll continue to maintain a few negative friends because there is at least a bit of good in everyone and we should try to nurture it. And tolerance is a virtue, right?