When we make an effort to become a positive person – to focus on the good and possibilities in life, we become more aware of people mired in the negative.
There are some very clear signs that tell us if a person is positive or negative, such as watching their demeanor, choice of words and overall outlook on life. We can also tell by observing how they treat other people, animals, etc. More often than not, a character profile emerges which helps us to know their overall outlook on life.
Positive people are more inclined to be optimistic, productive and filled with a sense of possibility and hope. Negative people are usually the opposite and often exude a pessimistic and overly critical aura.
Here are a few traits to look for that help to distinguish a negative person from a positive one:
Negative person
- Pessimistic outlook: They expect the worst and preach bleakness. For them, focusing on the problem is the norm, rather than offering up solutions.
- Always critical: They typically find faults in people and situations and if necessary, they will make stuff up to justify their negativity. They take constructive feedback about themselves as a negative attack on them and even if complimented, they sometimes misinterpret it as an insult.
- Constant complainers: Habitually negative people vent and air their “frustrations” so often, that they actually drain the life out of the room – their toxic negativity casts a pall over everything.
- Always deflate: Offer up something good and positive and they have a pathological need to throw in the negative “yeah, but…..” followed by a checklist of why something is terrible or won’t work.
- Their expression: The perpetually negative often carry a “sour puss” and rarely smile or seem at ease.
Positive people, or at least people who are making the effort to be so, tend to smile more and have a sunnier disposition. Some ways to tell a positive person over a negative one can include:
Positive person
- Optimistic outlook: Often possessing a more hopeful outlook, positive people will focus more on what is good and possible – they will try to see the brighter side as much and often as they can.
- See the best in people: Positive people try to be friendlier, understanding and more supportive – they also try to give people the benefit of the doubt and not take everything too personally.
- More supportive: Optimism means helping others and trying to uplift them, rather than tearing them down. We tend to get more support and encouragement from positive thinkers.
- Beneficial feedback: Feedback is given and received by positive people with the goal of helping to improve – hope is given, as is the offer of support. Because of this, friends feel more comfortable going to a positive person for guidance than they would a negative individual.
As part of the journey to become more positive, it sometimes means that we’ll want to help others to shed the negative and embrace the positive — sadly, that may not work and the best route may be to spend less time around negative people or, vow to not let their negativity bring us down.
“A man who is self-reliant, positive, optimistic, and undertakes his work with the assurance of success magnetises his condition. He draws to himself the creative powers of the universe.” – Norman Vincent Peale
“Keep my word positive. Words become my behaviors. Keep my behaviors positive. Behaviors become my habits. Keep my habits positive. Habits become my values. Keep my values positive. Values become my destiny.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.” – Allen Klein
