Overcoming Cynicism

"Cynicism is a lousy strategy."--Seth Godin, author, Tribes

I recently read the above quote in Godin’s book Tribes. It hit home on multiple fronts. Whenever you’ve been doing something for a long time, you can get cynical. If you’ve been doing your job for awhile or served at the same company for any length of time you’ve probably heard these statements (or made them yourself):

• “Nothing ever changes.”
• “We talk about the same stuff over and over again.”
• “Let’s do something different for a change.”

These statements don’t just apply to your job. We can get cynical whether we’re a stay-home mom or a manager of thousands. We can get cynical in our jobs, in our marriages, in our hobbies, in our lives. This can be especially true if we’ve been doing one thing for a long time. So how do you overcome cynicism? Here are a few tips I’ve found useful (and trust me, I have to do this in my own life as well).

(1)    Reflect on your core—Why are you doing what you’re doing? Why are at the job you hold? Why did you marry the person you did? Why do you love your kids? Sometimes when we get cynical we need to reflect on the “why” questions. Maybe you went into sales because you love people and are now burned out. If that’s the case, remember you are in your job to help people. The same principle applies to all areas of your life.

(2)    Catch yourself before making negative statements—Cynicism breeds more cynicism. If you talk negatively don’t expect it to end there. In fact, your cynicism will spread. Swallow those comments before making them.

(3)    Engage in activities that energize you—Whether it’s exercising, playing with your kids, reading a book or something else entirely, when you are doing actions that renew your spirit you are much less likely to turn into a Cynical Cindy. For example, running renews my mind as much as it does my body. When I’m not running on a regular basis I can tell a huge difference in my cynicism meter.

(4)    Take a break—It doesn’t hurt to get away. Of course, you can’t take a break from being a parent or spouse but every now and then it’s important to renew yourself. When it comes to work, be sure you are taking vacations on a regular basis. And there is something about “road trips.” Getting out of town and seeing new things is a great source of doing something different.

(5)    Mix up things—If you feel like nothing ever changes, then make change happen yourself. True change will only start with you. Sit in a different seat (at church, at meetings, etc.), change the meeting agenda, discuss an item everyone is afraid to mention, etc. It doesn’t matter what it is; just do something you haven’t done lately.

Cynicism and burnout are like bear traps. If you’re not careful, you just might step into one and start screaming before you realize what got you.

What else have you done to avoid having cynicism in your life?

Think Huge!

Comments

[Hannah]

Way to go! Your doing awesome! love your youngest