In episode 48 of How to Matter, I focus on those times when we are angry and not happy about events and circumstances. Contrary to what we may hear or be told, getting upset, angry, and unhappy with people and situations are quite normal and, within limits, good for us. The key is in how and when we give expression to our negative times. The article below is a somewhat related perspective and serves as the handout for this episode.

We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it. -- Abraham Lincoln

You are generally positive about most people and most situations. Some people are negative about everything and everyone or unpredictably negative about things. You can't tell when or where they are going to be in a snit about something or someone. Alternatively, the few things and people about whom you are negative are clearly known and predictable. There are few surprises.

There is a significant advantage to being generally positive and predictably negative. Negativity is energy draining and inhibits intuition. Being mostly positive avoids the downside of being negative. Further, knowing when and what people and circumstances prompt negativity lessens the emotional drain and makes it easier to manage the bad vibes so as to minimize the suppressing affect on intuition. You know that the cost of negativity is too high to tolerate beyond that which can't be avoided.