Negativity

Not too long ago, an individual made a comment that (s)he felt my blogs were "cranky" and "negative". I re-read most of them and didn't see much different in terms of trends from when I started blogging back in December of 2005 to now, July of 2007. The complaint(s) steered in the direction of my being too critical. Now, I fully admit, that I'm not a regular optimist. I don't go about life pretending everything is wondrous just after my grandmother dies, but I'm no eternal pessimist either. I see myself as someone right in between those two extremes- a realist. I attempt to see all sides to a story, to an argument, and from all the information I'm given, make a logical conclusion. I attempt to look at the pros and cons, place those on a scale and see which side outweighs the other. I only bring this up, because it brings me to a predicament which I felt was truly negative. I don't believe that a "critic" is eternally negative. Comedians critique daily oddities, fashion trends, stereotypes, language, amongst other things, and their intention through this is laughter. Entertainment critics do this through weighing all the elements of a film, a musical album, a live performance, a painting, or what have you, and there will be times that their reviews seem a bit on the negative side, but there are also times where the direct opposite is the case.

That brings me to a conversation I had not too long ago. I attempted to help this individual in a class, point them in the right direction, but they refused to put forth much effort on their own time. As a consequence, they failed the class. I attempted to take an optimist's approach and tell them, "Well, hopefully this experience will lend you some new insight when you take the class again, so that the same mistakes aren't made." But, no, that just ticked them off further. Their main complaint? "I'll never use this in my life. It's worthless! It's a waste of time! What's the point?" I again tried to shed some light on the subject (no pun intended) and said, "Well, while you may not need this material to function at your future job following the attainment of your degree, you will need to pass this class in order to receive the degree. So, try not to think of it as worthless and a waste of time, a subject you'll never use at your job. Try to think of it as one piece of the puzzle which completes your degree and allows you to work at that job." But, no, this didn't help either. They were irate and just said, "I won't ever need this! Period!" Okie dokie!

In my opinion, that's negative. He refuses to look at the potential benefits from taking and passing this class and is content (not really) on looking at the downsides. To him, it doesn't matter that this class is required in order to receive the degree he wants. That's irrelevant. In fact, in his mind, it shouldn't be required at all.

I mean, if we want to look at this realistically, then sure, perhaps this class isn't necessary for the job he intends to get after he receives the degree. But, couldn't we say that about a lot of classes? Isn't it nice to have some basic knowledge in most subjects? I mean, are geography classes necessary for a math teacher to function properly? Are math classes necessary for a poet to function properly? Are literature classes necessary for an athlete to function properly? I don't NEED education in some of these areas, but it is nice to hold some basic knowledge in physics, chemistry, physical and human geography, algebra, biology, microbiology, etc. Is he content on being completely ignorant in an area? Does that appease him? I don't understand this negative mentality. While in the long run, the class may not provide necessary information for him to utilize at his workplace, but why be so insistent on hating the class and everything that relates to it, when it is required for him to utilize anything legally at his future workplace?

While we have had leaders dictate to their people in the past, internally, I believe that mood and attitude are our dictators. If he truly had a positive attitude regarding this class and provided the effort to signify that, then I have no doubt in my mind he'd pass it with flying colors. But, that's just not the case and as long as he refuses to believe he should be required to pass the course to attain his degree, he'll have difficulty in doing so, unfortunately. I really wish him the very best, because I want to see him succeed, but it's very difficult for any person to speak directly to him on this topic, because it infuriates him to the very fullest.