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Because that is where their sum total of experience and knowledge influences them to be.
Some have had lives where most of their misfortunes were not caused by mostly by their own decisions.
Some, as other posters have stated, have made quite a few bad decisions and it helps them to avoid self analysis and a possible improvement.
Some have the perspective that with human potential, there actually can be a world with very little hardship or negativity, if humans as a group attained the right knowledge and made the right choices based on that knowledge. Basically eliminating greed, envy, hate, and similar vices.
Some , due to spiritual beliefs, have faith in a promised 'perfect' afterlife and accept the negativity as a test to get there.
Just a few reasons I have gleaned from conversations with those who, by their own admission, have a negative outlook.
From the news, to the papers, to the great debates forum here, it seems as if everyone think that this country, society, planet is just one big sinking ship. People assume our country will crumble, that a mega-asteroid is headed for the earth, that terrorists are on the verge of using bio weapons, that the swine flu will wipe us out, that the world will end in 2012. So my question is
Why is everyone so negative and have such a doom-and-gloom view of life?
I don't think we can just blame the media, people have always seemed to gravitate toward the negative, way before our current obsessive media culture. I'm not indicating that some of it isn't true, life is most certainly finite, and perils do lie around many corners. However, it is my opinion that people are always overreacting, assuming things are much worse then they are.
Are humans hardwired to focus on the negative aspects of everything?
I catch myself doing it to, but why does it seem like noone out there stops, takes a deep breath and enjoys their day? Isn't life a gift, not a curse? Like I said, I don't expect people to go through life blindly, expecting only good things to happen in a pain free world, but it seems that the opposite end of the spectrum, which is just as absurd, is a theory that a large percentage of people subscribe to. This does somewhat boil down to the cliche of glass half full or half empty, but do you agree that most people view the glass half empty, and if so, why?
Good question. I tend to take a positive view of life. I see us as facing great challenges, but I see people as being able to surmount challenges.
Negativity is a function of these sorts of things:
1. The media (whom I do not blame). I think its the media's job to tell us what we don't want to hear. We don't want to hear about war, famine, epidemics, crime, and political corruption. Yet, we can't try to fix these problems if we know nothing about them. I see a sort of "immaturity" among many. Learning about bad things is not an excuse for curling into a ball and becoming depressed. Instead, its a call to action.
2. Personal problems. Almost 10% of people can't find a job right now according to the unemployment figures. People in that boat are unlikely to be very happy. Than we have all the personal issues that are constants in life: divorce; health problems; bad neighbors; problems with kids; problems with elderly parents; and rising prices we can't seem to afford.
3. Politics. What is tough about our political system is that it seems like for one-side to be happy the other side has to be unhappy. Politics use to be much more about compromise and consensus than one side getting its way most of the time. I don't when this happened, but its an unfortunate change. Those who support the party out of power are likely to be unhappy at any given time.
4. Family factors. My father-in-law was a very successful man. He was a physician practicing in a specialty area. He made lots of money and was very influential. It didn't stop him from having a negative outlook on life. I think its just something that was passed onto him from his mother and father.
That's not a comprehensive list. Its just some major reasons why people choose to be negative.
I believe that for the most part, life experience for most people is negative. I will refrain from using good or bad since these are subjective terms but will sum life experience under the rubric of gains and losses. Life for everyone is a series of gains and losses and these are not limited to the financial categories. For example, happiness is considered a gain since it is perceived as a positive value. Where as sadness is considered as a loss since it is perceived as a negative value. Now, in the broad context, every life begins as a gain because out of the void of nonbeing, being has emerged in the form of life. And every life ends in a loss as returning to non being. I suppose that on a universal scale, this could be considered as equilibrium. But human life is subjective and can only be experienced that way and is a series of gains and losses and therefore, despite an ultimate equilibrium, subjectively, equilibrium is rare.
But equilibrium is not what is desired by most people, but rather net gains. In the realm of all possible occurrence and experiences, what most people desire to experience is such a minute percentage of all that is possible. Thus, the law of averages works against most people experiencing what they really desire. Add to this an increasing population and limited resources and the odds become more pessimistic. To simplify this idea, if one hundred people were asked to draw numbered slips of paper from a hat and ninety percent of those people wanted number 70 but there were one hundred slips of paper, that ninety percent are going to be disappointed for only one of them may get the slip with the 70 printed on it and there is a ten percent chance that none of the ninety people would get it. At best there may be one person who gets what he or she wants but there is a chance none of them will. There are more possible outcomes than there are desired outcomes.
But the above demonstration is only a microcosmic example of what we are dealing with in life. Most people want to experience love and give love. They want to be successful, happy, healthy. But in the realm of all possible outcomes, these desires, which are actually quite moderate compared to some, are just a small portion of possible outcomes. We all know, if not from personal experience, people who wanted love, but found only indifference, abandonment and pain. People who wanted moderate success, but found only frustration and loss. People who wanted health, but got cancer instead. Even where expectations in life are low, many times even these few and scant desires are left unfulfilled. Again, there are just more possibilities than there are desired outcomes. For most people, their net losses are higher than their net gains. And most return to non being, unfulfilled and frustrated.
Think about it. How often have good things (gain) just dropped in your lap so to speak? Oh, it happens, but compare that to all the times that bad things (loss) just seems to happen. The latter is not a rare occurrence at all by comparison. There seems to be no limit to the amount or the frequency of losses than can occur to any given person at any given time. Whereas gains generally need to be worked for and even hard work will not guarantee gains and even gains once attained can be lost without warning and for no apparent cause.
Indeed the randomness and precariousness of life is one of the very reasons why gods and religions were invented to try to explain or make sense out of life. I'd say that lowering ones expectations of what they expect from life is a good way to make this temporal earthly existence as joyous as it can be or at least bearable.
From the news, to the papers, to the great debates forum here, it seems as if everyone think that this country, society, planet is just one big sinking ship. People assume our country will crumble, that a mega-asteroid is headed for the earth, that terrorists are on the verge of using bio weapons, that the swine flu will wipe us out, that the world will end in 2012. So my question is
Why is everyone so negative and have such a doom-and-gloom view of life?
I don't think we can just blame the media, people have always seemed to gravitate toward the negative, way before our current obsessive media culture. I'm not indicating that some of it isn't true, life is most certainly finite, and perils do lie around many corners. However, it is my opinion that people are always overreacting, assuming things are much worse then they are.
Are humans hardwired to focus on the negative aspects of everything?
I catch myself doing it to, but why does it seem like noone out there stops, takes a deep breath and enjoys their day? Isn't life a gift, not a curse? Like I said, I don't expect people to go through life blindly, expecting only good things to happen in a pain free world, but it seems that the opposite end of the spectrum, which is just as absurd, is a theory that a large percentage of people subscribe to. This does somewhat boil down to the cliche of glass half full or half empty, but do you agree that most people view the glass half empty, and if so, why?
Why are you so negative and focusing on people focusing on negativity?
Anyway it's part of the survival instinct. You have to be aware of negative elements that can be detrimental to your well-being. Always be on your toes to eliminate those negative threats so you can continue your existence.
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