Are you a cynic?

After 5 years of medical school filled with rivals and backstabbers with a sense of schadenfreude who's only goal is to emerge with the highest possible grade and step on you in the process, almost most of my colleagues and I turned into cynics. We love patients and are selfless towards them but you would see that most of us are wary of other colleagues behaviors and true intentions. Selflessness is rare in the workplace interactions with everyone aiming to climb the ladder of success.

I turned from the happy go lucky boy who loved everyone into a cynic.

Is there a cure for cynicism?

Shiny Happy People are just as obnoxious as cynics. There's a middle ground called Realism. It's not exactly romantic, but neither is it an apocalyptic landscape.

Yeah people are mostly self-serving. That's why the ones who aren't shine so brightly.

Cynicism is just a byproduct of education and growing up so there is nothing you can do about it. It's like wisdom's snarky brother.

But speaking of the medical profession I hate the internship system. I just had a friend go through that and I don't see the point of working people a hundred hours a week.

Is it to wash people out at the start of their career? To build character? To teach decision making skills no matter how exhausted you are?

Maybe it has some kind of value but I just don't see it. I have never really looked into the reasons for it so it's my own fault for not knowing but sometimes it comes up like this and it baffles me.

Give me a well rested person doing his job every time. Especially an important job.

No.

I try not to be. If your eyes are open, it's not uncommon to see outright displays of selfishness in every day life. I see it every day.

Personally, I try not to add to this though. Generally speaking, I give people and things the benefit of the doubt. This is really a defense mechanism on my behalf as I treat others the way I would like to be treated out of fear of being, well mistreated.

Other times, it just makes me feel good giving people the benefit of the doubt.

Being cynical is healthy. The world is a tough place, better to build up a thick exterior and trust no one.

I try not to be, but it always creeps up at times. Maybe if there weren't so many idiots in the world...

Remember this caveat: half of all people are below average intelligence.

yes I am and most at my workplace are as well

I'd say I am, I try not to be so much though.

No. I'm more realistic then I am a cynic.

There's a cure, and while I don't want to call it "apathy", it's a lot like apathy. It's more akin to divesting yourself of these cosmically unimportant things in life--career, lust for money, etc--and realizing that happiness is mostly intangible. Damn, that sounded really hippie...

Obviously you need to make a living, and a lot of satisfaction (at least for me) comes from one's career, but there's a limit. So for lack of a better phrase, the cure is to stop giving a frack [to a degree]. Obviously you should still care for your patients, still care about doing a good job because that's your job, but if competition and screwing people over/being screwed over makes you unhappy...maybe you should not be competing? Maybe you should be applying your expertise in a different area?

I think you need to ask yourself this question, too: are you capable of getting to the top? And, if you are, when you get there, will you feel OK standing on a mountain of bodies that got you there? Not literal bodies but you know, people you've burned, backstabbed, betrayed, etc.

Remember dude, it's just life and you only get one. Don't take it too seriously.

@Riverwolf007: yeah I don't understand it either. These people come out of school incredibly well trained, and 40-60 hours a week should be more than enough to train them in time.

I think medicine is a lot like being a chef; you have a lot of the "old guard" that had it tough, and they in turn think it is their job, nay THEIR DUTY!, to pass on that toughness to the next crowd. What they don't realize is you sell your soul needless in doing this.

whose, not who's. The former is possessive, the latter is a contraction.

I've experienced something similar; after going to Uni and seeing all the competitiveness and pettiness - the whole experience was rather a letdown.

shocking!!!

Would agree with that, but outright delusional optimism has also shown it's uses and created a much thicker exterior than cynicism. It has literally won battles against superior troops who for all intents and purposes, should have won.

Cynic means you think people are motivated by self interest and expect the worse of them?

Really cynical about people in power, I tread lightly. Except Trump, can't tell his motivation and his worse cannot be imagined.

I have degrees, I go from snowflake to cynic with realism in between and I'm always simply trying to calculate where to calibrate my instruments on any given situation.

No, I'm not but I wouldn't describe "critical thinking" as being the same as cynicism, nor would I call my own perspective "realism" because -everyone- thinks that -their- perspective is right and therefor the most "realistic". I don't assume that everything will go wrong, or that everyone is ill intentioned just as I don't assume that everything will go right or that everybody has good intentions. I'm neutral (but courteous) until I have evidence to the contrary. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

-Byshop

I can when I want to. I usually direct mine at other cynics. Otherwise....why? There aren't many reasons for me to be cynical.

There are some people who are cynical to the point of being assholes. They want to be assholes? Then, treat them like one.

This, balance is super important. There are many situations in my life where strict optimism overrode whatever logical barriers were blocking me. You'd be surprised how much life will let you get away with if you constantly believe in yourself regardless of circumstance.

I am a cynic. If there's a cure I would like to know....actually, I don't care.