I can deal with just about anyone. This doesn't mean I have to like them, or even tolerate them, but I can handle just about any personality that someone throws at me. But recently, I almost met my match.
I work for a small company, which has three divisions. My division is comprised solely of myself and a middle-aged woman. (I guess team would be a better word than division, but I digress.) This woman and I are the only two people in the company who do what we do. Thus, we have to work together. A lot. And this is where my problem lies.
This woman is the most positive, upbeat person I have ever met. She makes Kenneth from 30 Rock seem surly. She goes beyond being a mere optimist. To her, a glass is never half-full; it's always completely full and spilling over the side. Optimistic people at least acknowledge that bad things can and do occur; this woman refuses to accept that reality of life. She's a classic Pollyanna. To a degree, it's kinda pleasant. She always has something nice to say, she never complains about a thing, and if you need some encouragement, she's happy to give it. But in a work environment, it's extremely aggravating.
I am a realist. I always have been. I hope for the best and plan for the worst, and that philosophy has never failed me. Optimists look at a situation and pick out the good while ignoring the bad. Pessimists look at a situation and pick out the bad while ignoring the good. Realists look at a situation and see both, and decide which side is stronger. My Pollyanna co-worker does none of the above.
To her, there is no such thing as bad. It simply doesn't exist. Even things that are in reality bad are good to her. It's not even that she puts a positive spin on bad things; it's much worse. She simply sees everything as being good. If this was 1939, she'd be saying, "So the Germans are going to eliminate all the Jews and create an Aryan nation? What a wonderful idea!"
At first, trying to deal with her unfailing Pollyanna complex was really difficult for me. My concerns were dismissed as negativity, my ideas were written off as unneeded. No matter what I tried, it didn't work. I was unable to crack her. I couldn't figure out how to get through to her. I realized that I needed a different strategy, but I wasn't sure what...Until I was watching the Dog Whisperer one night. In that episode, Cesar told a dog owner that her problems were stemming from the fact that she was treating her dogs like people. "You need to remember that they're dogs, and treat them as such. A dog needs to be a dog. When you treat a dog like a person, they don't know how to react." It hit me. I had been treating Pollyanna like a normal person, and I hadn't had any luck. But she's not a normal person. There is no code to crack. She isn't a mystery. She's just an idiot.
I know that sounds harsh, but it's true. It explained everything. She didn't consciously or even subconsciously adopt an overly sunny outlook on life. She just doesn't know any better. Instead of approaching conversations with her like a normal adult, I treat her like a five year old, and she loves it. We've never gotten along better. Now she doesn't aggravate me, she entertains me.
We can let stupid people bother us, or we can let them entertain us. The latter is much better for you. As my late grandmother always used to say, "No fools, no fun."
