Cast away the cynical side of you with a five-step strategy to take a positive view of life

The Oxford English Dictionary defines cynicism in a very enlightening way: 'A disposition to disbelieve in the sincerity or goodness of human motives and actions.'

The main thing to notice about the definition is the presence of negativity. A cynical person will almost always choose to doubt, disbelieve or discredit, even when there is no logical reason to do so.

So why do people think and behave like this?

Cast away the cynical side of you

There are many schools of thought on the matter - some regard cynicism as a personal defence mechanism whereby people prevent themselves from opening up to love and friendship for fear of being hurt.

Others say it comes about due to a traumatic event that occurred in childhood and caused a person to 'close up'.

Here are some super simple things you can do to get yourself on the path of positive thinking and away from those habits of cynicism.

  • RECOGNISE THE PROBLEM: As with all problems the first step is in the recognising. Some people go their whole lives not realising that they are horrible people with miserly outlooks. Consider yourself lucky that you have recognised the problem and can do something about it. This is the first step.
  • RECOGONISE EACH CYNICAL THOUGHT: Once you have realised that you can be a cynic, the task is to start realising it more often. Think of this as a bit of a mindful meditation. The idea is to become attuned to your mind and thoughts and start to become aware of every cynical thought.
  • USE LOGIC TO DEBATE THE CYNICISM: Logic is a wonderful thing. Logic allows you to overcome destructive emotions and other negative things in your life. Why? Because 99 per cent of the time the reason for your depression, anxiety, hatred or other negative feeling is illogical. If you debate the negative feeling using logic you will often find that the negative feeling gets weaker.
  • MAKE A DEFINITIVE CHOICE TO BE POSITIVE: Everything good in life comes from a choice. When you make a choice to do something, you do everything that you can to make that thing come about.
  • FOCUS ON PEOPLE'S QUALITIES: The last method I want to give you is the one that has worked the best for me. It is the simple art of choosing to look at people's qualities instead of their negative attributes. If you're a cynical person and you find that you have no friends, a bad job, poor social life and are generally unhappy, then you could conclude that the results of your cynicism were bad. This is the type to avoid. If, however, you find that your cynicism helps you to avoid trouble, then you can conclude that it is a good type. Make sure you learn the difference.


Nasrudin is walking past a cave when he sees a yogi, deep in meditation, and he asks the holy man what he is searching for.

The yogi says: 'I have learned many lessons from them that can transform a man's life.'

'A fish once saved my life,' Nasrudin replies. 'If you teach me everything you know, I will tell you how it happened.'

The yogi is astonished; only a holy man could be saved by a fish. And he decides to teach Nasrudin everything he knows.

When he has finished, he says to Nasrudin: 'Now that I have taught you everything, I would be proud to know how a fish saved your life.'

Nasrudin replies: 'Very simple. I was almost dying of hunger when I caught it and thanks to that fish, I had enough food for three days.'


PAULO COELHO: Cast away the cynical side of you with a five-step strategy to take a positive view of life