People who are negative don’t know they’re negative. They also don’t know how they were infected with cynicism, scarcity, negativity, and other poor and disempowering beliefs. Negativity doesn’t turn on all at once or very quickly. It builds up little by little, transforming those who are infected over time.
At the dinner table, someone describes “others” as being responsible for all that is wrong with the world. “Others” are the cause of bad things. The world is split into good ones and bad ones, our side and their side. Soon, that belief, never chosen is a tiny drop of poison that clouds the lens through which the infected sees their world.
The television and the internet provide a constant flow of bad news designed to provoke attention and clicks. Stories are sensationalized to provoke feelings, and to split people into “sides.” Those who are provoked spit vitriol at those who see things different, arguing over events, even though they don’t benefit from the event, nor are they harmed. The poison comes in through the eyes and ears, building up over time.
At work, those who are infected are subversive, whispering in the ears of those who struggling, absolving them of responsibility for their problems and blaming “them.” The leadership team. The clients. The competitors. The challenges their operations team never seems to outrun.
And then there are the complainers who provide a never ending stream of whining and bellyaching. They wish things were different, better even, but they never lift a finger to make anything better. A drip of venom from the tongue unintentionally transferred to those who unknowingly accept something toxic.
This poison tastes sweet to those who want desperately to believe that they are not the ones responsible for their results. A tiny does of poison over the course of days, and weeks, and month, and years, and those who allow it to seep in through their ears are fully infected—and most likely, carriers.
After all of this poison, is it any wonder that those who have been taken in so much negativity see everything as negative? Is it any wonder they assume bad intentions from anyone and everyone? How could they possibly not blame “others” for their circumstances, for the things that are wrong, for the cause of their suffering?
To avoid taking in this poison, you must remain vigilant, recognizing and eliminating the sources. When you encounter the sources in your personal life, you have to protect yourself by working to beat back their infection with your positive, optimistic demeanor and disposition.
You do not have to take in a small of dose of poison every day. You can inoculate yourself by taking in so much of what is positive that you build an immunity to that which would harm you.
