The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the realist adjusts the sails.
(William George Ward)
Anyone who has attended a lecture or training given by me knows the pumpkin lady. She represents that professional who sees problems in absolutely everything. She is the extremely pessimistic type of person who can only see the bad side of things.
To relax and create a rapport with the participants, I usually use, to exemplify this very negative character, the expression “chayote face with cramp”, that is, Dona Abóbora is that person who is always with an ugly face, tied up. Everyone has that friend or co-worker who insists on making an inconvenient comment when you're down, sad, needing just the opposite.
It is also not difficult to find the type of rude professional, who expresses himself through shouting, punching the table, bad jokes, irony, humiliation, among other impolite attitudes. He is always dissatisfied and complains about everything: the room, the table, the chair, the computer, the boss, the colleague and so on. He discourages the new employee, denigrates the company's image, but remains there, probably out of fear, insecurity, low self-esteem.
Unfortunately, we know professionals who make a point of treating their colleagues and even the company's customers badly. Who act with indifference and devalue positive attitudes and exemplary postures of the team. We know who is the one who takes pleasure in sharing information based on hearsay, usually in a negative tone – the famous gossip. And he has what he likes to criticize. The critic never considers the other as an equal, he always sees himself above him. A superiority conferred through the depreciation of others. Unfortunately, he cannot see himself.
People with these traits represent, in my view, a burden, a nuisance; hinder and harm, mainly, the corporate environment. Here, they are symbolized by pumpkins, precisely because they are heavy and difficult to carry. It could be anything else heavy that you had to carry with you at all times, regardless of the occasion: work, home, restaurant, leisure. It would certainly be uncomfortable, as carrying a weight (or a pumpkin) for a long time is tiring, irritating, insecurity, discouragement and other harm.
Obviously, not all people who have negative behaviors are Pumpkin Ladies. Depends on intensity and frequency. There are people who have negativity as a flag and do not hesitate to share what they say and do, accentuating the bad side. However, we all have bad days and we are susceptible to negativity, likely to become Pumpkin Mistresses over time. Avoiding behaviors that lead to this will depend exclusively on each one.
In the corporate sphere, professionals with this lifestyle, sooner or later, tend to lose ground in companies. They are considered as individuals that directly affect the organizational climate. They are seen as unprepared, immature and accommodated people, who do not generate results.
We can't always avoid an inappropriate attitude or behavior, after all, we are human. And, as thinking beings, we can observe our attitudes and become aware of the weight of living with negative people. So, little by little, we monitor our actions, modifying the quality of our thinking and changing our way of dealing with situations. All this generates, in us, positive changes. Over time, the result is self-respect, evolution, maturity and recognition from others.
Seeing challenges as something positive will contribute to personal and professional development. And it is through them that we achieve our goals and overcome our limitations. By taking risks, we leave our comfort zone and are ready to take new steps, without forgetting the search for new knowledge, a fundamental factor to get where you want. On the other hand, the consequences of lack of information can be disastrous.
Here's the tip: resist gossip, always be in a good mood, monitor your attitudes and avoid Pumpkin Ladies (ah… and don't be one of them! Lol).
