Your negative attitude could lose you more than just friends: Being cynical can cost you money, finds a new German study.
In the study, people answered questions about how inherently good they thought the other participants were. The scientists grouped subjects by their “cynical distrust,” and found that the Debbie Downers had lower annual incomes compared to more positive, trusting people.
Here’s why that might be: Imagine your coworker offers to give you a hand on an important project, but you don’t trust him—so you don’t accept his help. Shying away from this kind of creative collaboration could hurt your chances of working with new people, and as a result, it could affect your climb up the corporate ladder—and sabotage potential earnings, says study coauthor Daniel Ehlebracht, Ph.D.
The good news: If you actually work with a bunch of untrustworthy a-holes, you’re probably not missing out. The connection is only strong if your cynical beliefs are unjustified and your colleagues haven’t given you a reason to doubt them, says Ehlebracht. But there’s plenty of research that shows most people can indeed be trusted, he says.
Cynic by nature? Your chances of changing your outlook overnight are slim. But you can become a more optimistic guy over time, says Thomas Joiner, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Florida State University. His tip: Choose a successful, happy buddy to be your Yoda.
