Cynic, defeatist, depreciator, doomster, downer, gloom merchant, gloomy Gus, killjoy, misanthrope, party pooper, sourball, wet blanket, worrier, worrywart, however you want to say it, I am a pessimist. I often walk into situations expecting the worst, always waiting for the hammer to fall, so I can say to myself “I knew it; to good to be true.”
It’s where a lot of my sense of humor comes from; my stand up is often turning this viewpoint to an absurd degree. But in my real life this makes me a negative person and sometimes not very fun to be around.
A good example of this pessimism in my life is working at The Phoenix. This is the single coolest job I have ever had: I work with great people and have an unprecedented amount of creative freedom. A good part of my day is spent talking with artists, musicians and members of the business and political community, which is something I enjoy even when I’m not being paid. But no matter how much fun I am having, there is always that thought in the back of my mind, “This isn’t going to last, this is going to go away tomorrow; you need to do this better.” It’s a character flaw. We all have them, but I don’t want to live that way.
It’s hard to reflect on those aspects of ourselves that need improvement and one of the best ways to work through these flaws and make ourselves better is by reaching out to friends and others who can objectively look at the situation and offer advice or constructive criticism.
So I turn to the community and ask how would you combat this characteristic, and move forward?

Posted by
Matthew Byrd