Peevish Little Pets, Aren't They?

There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.
~Clement Stone~

Have I mentioned before that I have several pet peeves?  Knowing me, I probably have.  I'm fairly certain I've talked about how much I hate rudeness and I know I've blogged about bad grammar.

Bad grammar doesn't reveal the nature of a person.  Neither does rudeness, really.  We all have bad days and can be rude at times.  I don't consider myself to be a rude person but I'm sure I've been rude more than once without realizing it.  In reality, who hasn't?

My biggest pet peeve, though, is negative people.  I know more than one person with that attitude and avoid them as much as I can.  Whenever possible, I totally remove them from my life.  In my opinion, there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for a consistently bad attitude and I refuse to subject myself to the negative energy that surrounds those people.

Now, don't get me wrong. I know we all have down times when we let the negative thoughts creep in and take over for a period of time.  I suppose a little pessimism is healthy in that it can humble us and make us appreciate the good things in our lives (the keyword there is "little").  That's not what I'm talking about.  I'm talking about those people who are ALWAYS negative.

Most of the negative people I know couple their negativity with rudeness, sarcasm and, at times, insults.  You know what's funny about that?  Those people then complain that they have no friends and can't understand why they're not very popular or included as often.

In some ways, I feel sorry for those people.  They don't have the common sense to know that, first, they are their own problem and, second, they have the power to change their situation.  Something else, too, is that those people tend to be self-absorbed in that they think mostly about themselves and their circumstances.  It doesn't seem to occur to them that someone else may be having a bad day and could use a shoulder.

So, having said all that, if you've read this and wonder if it applies to you, well, you may be on to something.  What kind of attitude do you consistently have and how much attention do I pay to you and your comments?  Food for thought, maybe?