As I've gotten older, I've noticed I'm getting to be much more of a cynic than I used to be. When I was younger I had some self-esteem issues, and maybe this stems from that (as I still have some occasional esteem issues).
If you look at the dictionary.com definition of "Cynical":
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cynical
There's a few of those definitions that I read that I say, "Yep, I do that."
Sometimes, it's more like definition #1 of "Cynic":
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cynic
"a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view."
And while that's not entirely how I feel, I do think I have a "healthy distrust" of the population in general, and that certain aspects of cynicism have done well for me.
It's allowed me to be somewhat aware of Machiavellian techniques (such as Machiavellian Intelligence, and Machiavellianism in the Workplace)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machiavellianism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machia...n_intelligence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machia..._the_workplace
I'm not saying I'm good at it, just that I can be somewhat more aware of it. I mean, if I distrust most people (by motive -- see definition), then I'm more guarded.
I'm not saying it's good, and I'm not sure I want cynicism to take over my entire life, but it's suited me well to this point. And it seems to gradually become more and more pervasive in my "daily" life. Honestly, there are very few people in my life I trust completely at this point, aside from myself (and sometimes I wonder about that, too). My wife, my kiddo, Two of my friends, God, and Jesus. Most of my co-workers I don't even completely trust, and some I even distrust.
I look at it this way: If I look at things from a cynical perspective, when something good and/or positive happens, it's a pleasant surprise. Otherwise, it's more like "Was anyone really surprised by that?"
For instance, think about the common stereotype of politicians lying (work with me here). When a politician lies, some people are surprised. My perspective is, "A politician lied. Are we really surprised?"
Thoughts?
If you look at the dictionary.com definition of "Cynical":
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cynical
There's a few of those definitions that I read that I say, "Yep, I do that."
Sometimes, it's more like definition #1 of "Cynic":
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cynic
"a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view."
And while that's not entirely how I feel, I do think I have a "healthy distrust" of the population in general, and that certain aspects of cynicism have done well for me.
It's allowed me to be somewhat aware of Machiavellian techniques (such as Machiavellian Intelligence, and Machiavellianism in the Workplace)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machiavellianism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machia...n_intelligence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machia..._the_workplace
I'm not saying I'm good at it, just that I can be somewhat more aware of it. I mean, if I distrust most people (by motive -- see definition), then I'm more guarded.
I'm not saying it's good, and I'm not sure I want cynicism to take over my entire life, but it's suited me well to this point. And it seems to gradually become more and more pervasive in my "daily" life. Honestly, there are very few people in my life I trust completely at this point, aside from myself (and sometimes I wonder about that, too). My wife, my kiddo, Two of my friends, God, and Jesus. Most of my co-workers I don't even completely trust, and some I even distrust.
I look at it this way: If I look at things from a cynical perspective, when something good and/or positive happens, it's a pleasant surprise. Otherwise, it's more like "Was anyone really surprised by that?"
For instance, think about the common stereotype of politicians lying (work with me here). When a politician lies, some people are surprised. My perspective is, "A politician lied. Are we really surprised?"
Thoughts?
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