Mr Thundercloud

Negative people don't need a great deal of identifying, they're just there like a festering carbuncle on an otherwise perfect complexion. Where a positive person will see an idyllic scene of rainbows and Elysian fields, all the negative person notices are storm clouds gathering on the horizon. The clouds might not even there at all, in which case the negative person will never miss an opportunity to invent them. They want everybody else to be negative too; it upsets them that anyone can wake up first thing in the morning and be happy and positive about their existence. They don't notice the sunshine streaming in through the window or the blue sky that greets them as they get into the car on the way to work. It's as if they have a perpetual thundercloud suspended directly over their heads and it's never going to disperse.

We all know at least one negative person that fits this description (let’s call him Mr Thundercloud for the purposes of this article).

Mr Thundercloud is best ignored or avoided altogether. You will never change him however determined you are in your quest. He will only blame you for the way he is. You can never win; don't even try. Some view negative people like him as a challenge but you may as well go in search of the Holy Grail because you will never turn such a negative person into a positive one. Nothing you ever say or do succeeds in injecting some positive element into Mr Thundercloud’s miserable existence.

If you're an eternal optimist and you happen to find yourself in a relationship with someone like Mr Thundercloud then get the hell out of there quick. Don't let him demoralise you and take away the joy you experience in living. Reasonable people know that storm clouds usually have a silver lining and won't let themselves drown in negativity but the negative person will turn everything to rust as if they have 'the Midas Touch' in reverse.

So how can you deal with people like this? It's never easy. In all fairness to Mr Thundercloud, he's just never learned that life can be an enjoyable experience and not the continual thunderstorm he expects.

The atmosphere around negative people is so full of doom and gloom that making some positive comment to diffuse the negativity is futile and like a drop in the ocean, it will make no real difference to a lifetime of negativity that can't be shifted. If these personality types ever win the lottery they'd still only see the negative before the positive had any real chance to kick in.

Even demonstrating the results of their negative behaviour and the ill-effects it has on others does nothing to change the negative person into a more positive one. You are fighting a losing battle. Let Mr Thundercloud and others like him live their miserable lives alone for that's what they deserve.