by Robin Landry

Created on: April 25, 2009   Last Updated: May 04, 2011

A horse goes into a bar. The bartender says, "Hey! Why the long face?" As a joke, this brief story usually elicits little more than painful groans. However, it does touch on a more serious subject; how does negativity impact the efforts of individuals and of society as a whole? And are there any benefits in trying to get the "Gloomy Gus" sitting next to you to cheer up?

There are any number of articles and studies outlining how negativity can increase our stress, undermine our health, and put a strain on our relationships. Negative individuals live in a world of perpetually low expectations and there is no doubt that this can have a dampening effect on productivity. When we expect to fail before we even begin, it shouldn't be any surprise that our approach to life very quickly takes on a "Why bother?" feel.

In a recent article on the American Towns website, author Jon Gordon suggests that there are even more serious ramifications to a negative perspective on life. He says, "A society in a state of depression can't think its way out of a crisis." In the currently challenging economic times, consumers have no confidence. People are so fearful about the possibility of job loss that they have stopped spending. The down side however, is that too many spending cutbacks will only serve to make the situation worse.

Researchers continue to draw parallels between consumer behavior during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the economic crisis of today. The common thread seems to be a loss of confidence in the economy and the fear that recovery is not possible.

Unfortunately, however, when investors shy away from the markets and consumers delay or forego the purchase of various durable goods, the industries that rely both upon those investments and upon the sale of those goods are negatively impacted. They may be forced to cut production and lay off workers. This places a hardship on their suppliers and the merchants and service providers with whom their former employees did business. And then those suppliers and merchants and service providers must cut back as well which sets the downward spiral in motion.

Plus, as financial worries continue to grow we become anxious, discouraged and depressed; this causes the unemployed to have even greater difficulty in terms of generating the enthusiasm and drive needed to find new work or start  new businesses. Even employees who still have their jobs may be plagued by sleepless nights and the fear of future layoffs,

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