I suppose it’s relative. What might be something negative? It’s sort of obviously negative of every time you mention someone, this person is like: “they’re so annoying..” or “I hate that guy” or whatever- but is it something always negative to say if someone is just speaking objective truth and the truth is not rosy? I suppose it’s overall good advice though what it means is pretty broad and vague- to the contrary one also may want to stay away from people who never have anything other than positive to say. We can say that in truth, most things in the world are neither good nor bad inherently, but have positive and negative aspects. To see only one aspect, be that good or bad, is not a view that reflects reality. As a matter of perspective- a terrible hurricane will disrupt many lives and insurance companies stand to lose lots of money; but construction companies stand to have a huge payday. One person loses their business or home and another person is able to start a business or buy..
.. a home because the chaos and disruption shook things up to provide them that opportunity.
One family tells a heart breaking tale of loss and another family tells an uplifting tale of how their beloved dog led their young child back to rescuers in a “real life miracle.” I don’t know that I want to listen to someone who when discussing ethnic cleansing only “looks at the positive side” of things. That doesn’t seem healthy. Perhaps the real question isn’t wether they always have something negative or positive to say but what exactly they are saying and what the ratio and context are. I value a pragmatic friend because they’ll point out the challenges you may not have thought of when you plan something. They’ll help keep things in perspective. Having someone that lifts you up is great- but so is having someone that keeps you grounded. It everyone or even most people can be both at once, so it can be good to not just have “yes men” around.
One family tells a heart breaking tale of loss and another family tells an uplifting tale of how their beloved dog led their young child back to rescuers in a “real life miracle.” I don’t know that I want to listen to someone who when discussing ethnic cleansing only “looks at the positive side” of things. That doesn’t seem healthy. Perhaps the real question isn’t wether they always have something negative or positive to say but what exactly they are saying and what the ratio and context are. I value a pragmatic friend because they’ll point out the challenges you may not have thought of when you plan something. They’ll help keep things in perspective. Having someone that lifts you up is great- but so is having someone that keeps you grounded. It everyone or even most people can be both at once, so it can be good to not just have “yes men” around.