By Sergio Berrueta
Negativity is an attitude occurring within young adults today. Pessimism in our society is becoming an increasing issue.
Many are unhappy with the world today and there is a long list of problems that surround them.
Instead of trying to solve their issues, they dump their frustration on everyone else and bring them down to their level of misery. This only adds to their frustration.
The old phrase goes “misery loves company,” and does it ever.
Pessimists love to take everyone down a peg and misery comes out once they begin to comment on others lives.
They take out their own misery on other people to keep themselves at ease in their own life. Their friends start to grow tired of it and abandon them.
An example is when people dwell on something negative and overthink it. Take, for instance, my personal experience dealing with trying to get back on track in college: I applied once for a community college with all of my classes intact until one day, all my classes were gone and I couldn’t get any of them back.
I was stuck looking for a job that semester, and I let others know about what had happened. Interviews came in left and right, but others got the jobs instead.
My once positive attitude suddenly became grim and depressing and I lost the will to continue. Then I decided to go to East Los Angeles College and tried to get into journalism. It was a silver lining to a long struggle.
Most fail to see the light that lingers at the end of the tunnel. It is always there, up in the distance, in front of the negative thought, yet clouded by someone’s own personal judgment.
If they focus on a clear ending and solution, they can succeed.Yet, some negative attitudes are justified. Maybe a person, who is constantly angry and cold, is upset at the world and is dealing with personal issues.
Lack of opportunities to express themselves, like with a family member, could be causing the negative thoughts and daily struggles.
Those issues may be eased with some outreach to others such as talking to someone.
An outlet can also be creative projects such as art or writing. These mild or severe frustrations can be turned into great pieces of story or beautiful images of art.
If not that, ease the tension by listening to music or taking the time to think about the current situation that may be causing such anger and frustration.
If the problem seems to grow worse, therapy sessions can be sought out to help solve the issues that cloud up the mind.
Note that not every Negative Nancy is going to turn into the most positive person in the world overnight, but taking simple steps can help keep the pessimistic viewpoint out and the optimistic viewpoint in.
Students can tackle any obstacle with a more optimistic viewpoint.