Quote:
Originally Posted by
enjoiii 
Refering specifically to how you speak about others. What are you like?
I find myself to be very negative when speaking about what others are doing with their life....
You go to community college? You're a loser.
You work at a coffee shop? I've never known such a failure.
Any advice for seeing the positive in people? Or advice for not saying what I am thinking? Or is this just engrained in me and I am doomed to always be an asshole?
Apologies in advance for a reply that will be filled with cliches, but I really think they're true.
Based on your example judgments, it seems like you're acutely aware of social hierarchies and of winners and losers. I used to evaluate people in just the way you're describing, mostly when I was in my early 20s. At that point, I was very insecure about my own status in the world; it wasn't obvious at all that I was going to turn out to be one of life's "winners." And so I was always on the lookout for ways in which other people were lower than me in the social hierarchy. That at least gave me some security. I've found that as I've felt better about my own status--primarily career status, but not just that--I've been less and less keen to spot flaws in others.
Another cliche: I have known and been friends with people who would be considered by most as paradigm cases of "losers." One of them was a schizophrenic and another had multiple personality disorder (or dissociative identity disorder, as they say now). These are some of the most inspiring people I've ever known. Seriously. Despite obstacles that I can't even begin to conceive, they've cobbled together lives that, if not always full of joy, are at least livable. I've worked hard in my life and attained a certain degree of professional success, but what I've done is nothing compared to what they've done. Thinking of people like them helps put things in perspective.