The Eeyore Syndrome

by Rev. Donnie Price
(Wilson, NC 27893)

Numbers 13:27--14:4

Rev. Donnie Price
Rosebud Baptist Church
Wilson, NC 27893

Eeyore is a favorite amongst most admirers of Winnie the Pooh characters and he is an unbelievably loveable donkey who is dismally gloomy for almost eternity.

But that’s not Eeyore’s perception of himself, according to him; he doesn’t expect too much of himself and therefore remains quiet for most of the time. Eeyore, a very gloomy, blue-gray donkey.

Eeyore has very little expectations.

1. Identifying a negative individual is the easy part.

1. Dealing with such a person, however, is far from pleasant and requires good boundaries and a lot of hard work.



2. A pessimist wears out the patience of those closest to him and drains the energy from friends who try to help him see things from a more positive perspective.



3. If you spend much time around a personality type that perpetually whines, criticizes, or spreads a gospel of "doom and gloom," you know how important is it to constantly monitor your own attitude to prevent negativity from chipping away at your previously sunny disposition.

2. Negativity is infectious.

1. The workplace can be a prime example for a negative outlook on life, an outlook that can have a profound effect on performance and output.



2. There can be one single person who's cup is always half full ,thats all it will take to lower the morale of colleagues.



3. Negativity has many facets, bitterness, jealousy, low self esteem, envy, to name but a few.



4. Just one negative influence can dramatically effect the mood of the masses.

3. It's not hard to identify a negative person, but dealing with them can be challenging.

1. We all know that misery loves company and the key to dealing with negative people is to maintain our own positive attitude.



2. People who always insist that they are going to fail, Mess up or get sick usually do and make others feel bad in the process.
   *Complaining is habitual and contagious and should be handled like a virus.
   *If you frequently engage in conversations with a chronic complainer, some of that negativity is going to rub off on you.



3. The best way to handle negative people is to spend the least amount of time possible interacting with them.
   *Don't engage in gossip, complaints and other forms of negative conversation.
   
   *By sympathizing you are reinforcing their negative habits.

4. Attitude is contagious- is yours worth catching?

1. It is important to remember that negative people often deflect their unhappiness on others.



2. The 10 traits that identifies a positive attitude:
   1. Exhibit integrity
   2. Do not speak badly of others
   3. Stay optimistic
   4. Help others when you can
   5. High ambitions
   6. Kind and compassionate
   7. Believe in and respect yourself
   8. Persist until you succeed
   9. Open mindedness
   10.Take responsibility

5. Other people's negativity needn't slow you down if you bear in mind that their views are only part of the picture.

1. The faults or obstacles they point out might be real, because nothing's perfect.
   *The difference lies in whether you know there's enough that's positive and worthwhile about what you're doing to outweigh any negatives they present.



2. Realistically, it's unlikely that you'll be able to completely avoid negative people, but you can keep their pessimism from rubbing off on you.
   *The part of a negative person's view to distance yourself from isn't what they've observed.
   
   ~It's the importance they give to it.
   ~Don't be drawn into their beliefs that something's no good unless it's perfect and problems must be prevented at all costs.
   ~Unlike the negative person, you can remind yourself that perfection is rarely necessary - or even possible - and problems can be overcome.

Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.

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