Ignore Negative People

They’ll find a problem for every solution

"Ignore negative people. They’ll find a problem for every solution."

I read this “quote” on Twitter earlier in the week and I’m torn.
On the one hand, I am all for ignoring negative people. On the other hand, I tend to sit in the finding problems camp.

I’ve never thought of myself as a negative person. Of course, I have my moments when life sends me bucket loads of shit. In those times I can get a little down but that seems common. 

However, I do sometimes get told that I am being a bit of a negative nancy. Or, I get the feeling that people are thinking this while listening to what I have to say.

So I’ve given it some thought. I filled up a glass to its mid-point and stared at it for a while. Do I consider the glass half full? Or, is it actually half empty?

Then, I got frustrated because it is both. Clearly, the glass has some water in it and it’s about halfway. Who gives a shit which way you view it. That's your opinion.

Let me put it to you this way.

We're sitting on a beautiful island beach not a cloud in the sky. I pour you a delicious frozen margarita. You take a few big swigs. If I asked you about the glass's contents then what might you say? You’d probably think it’s half empty. Because it's so delicious and refreshing you would love a top-up.

In the same situation, if I poured you a glass of milk and told you that's all there was to drink. What would you say then? You might prefer to think of the glass as still half full. Because "milk was a bad choice!"

It all depends on what’s in the glass - it’s all about perspective.

So, my point? My point is that I am a realist. I prefer to see things as they are. By giving something a tag of negative or positive it would mean you’re assigning meaning to that object. I prefer not to assign meaning and simply view it for what it is.
In business and in startups that ability has become a powerful skill for me.

I love problem-solving. I love finding inefficiencies and broken systems that I can then fix, test and iterate on. To get good at that I have to be realistic. I have to look at things and find faults. I have to review solutions other people have come up with and find the problems in their execution. Does this make me negative? 

I can see how it may come across as negative but it doesn’t make me negative. It makes me prepared for anything. My judgement isn’t clouded by that “half full” mentality that everything will be ok. I would rather have the mentality that if something can go wrong, 99% of the time it will. Then I try to figure out what could go wrong. When I've identified all the possible challenges I can put in systems to fix them.

And, in doing that I can then be more positive about the outcomes because I have reduced the downside scenarios. It seems simple to me. If you can come up with all potential problems and then solve them, you know you’re in a good place.

Now that we’ve cleared up that I am not a pessimist but a realist. Let’s circle back to the ignoring negative people part. Based on my argument above it would then make sense not to ignore negative people. And, to some extent, that is my theory. If the negativity is realistic and leads towards a positive outcome and a resolution then I’m all ears.

But, we have all worked with that one person who just doesn’t have a constructive word to add. Every reply or answer is negative and unhelpful. It’s not only frustrating but infuriating. I have two thoughts on people like this. 

First, you need to be very careful because 1 rotten fruit in the bowl rots the rest quicker. The negativity will flow onto others in their team.
Second, set up some one-on-ones with this person. Most people don’t join a company in a negative state. Something has happened that is influencing their attitude. It may be due to external factors. Of course, you can’t do much about that but showing you care may be enough to change their attitude. They may not have even realised they were behaving in this way. The main takeaway is to give people the benefit of the doubt and care for your people.

Don’t be scared to be a realist even if people around you may tell you that you’re being negative. 

Peace, Love and Muscles.

Jarren

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What I’m Reading

The Ultimate Sales Machine - Chet Holmes
The examples are a little dated but the messaging is incredible. I am trying to teach myself how to be a better salesperson so I can better coach my sales team. I’m halfway through this book but it’s great so far.

Podcast I’m Listening To

Tim Ferriss Show - Episode #627 Brian Armstrong (CEO of Coinbase)
Yes, I am still very much all in on crypto. Brian comes across as very humble and is obviously crazy smart. His vision for Coinbase is inspiring and there are some really good takeaways for any business leader.