What is the difference between being skeptical and being cynical?

Michael Davis started us off with the perfect framing: a cynic is negative ▪ and stays planted in his or her beliefs. A skeptic is a healthy optimist. It's a difference between being open minded and closed minded.

 

Stewart Wiggins agreed saying he thinks most of us are probably skeptics but that there are some people who always believe something bad is going to happen. That cynicism often leads to those bad things actually happening.

 

Gary Fredericks came in strong with the idea that being skeptical is a key ingredient to good leadership; having that ability to go through the checks and balances to make sure the facts are adding up. He also shared that he can be cynical – particularly about spinach (we disagree on that. I like spinach.)

 

I followed up by wondering if someone is being negative, if they are skeptical, are they are open to changing their mind but if they are cynical, is it a waste of time to even try to talk to them?

 

Toward the end I asked a more practical question: How do you notice if you're kind of sliding into that cynical space? And how do you pull yourself out of it?  

 

Do you agree or disagree with Stewart’s point at the end about marriage being helpful to keep you from being too cynical?

 

Connect with the panelists:
Stewart Wiggins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewart-wiggins/

Induna Advisors – where he offers Fractional Chief Operating Officer services and Brings resources together to help scale your business.

 

Gary Fredericks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyfredericks/

CEO of On Point Partners where they provide back-office services for small businesses. They make business easy.

 

Michael Davis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldavisspeakingcpr/

Founder of Speaking CPR where he helps business leaders and speakers improve their presentations and speeches

 

Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

AKA Mental MacGyver. My doctorate is in organizational business psychology with a concentration in sport and performance. I provide luxury level, high performance support and coaching to executives, founders, celebrities and athletes.

 

Want a summary of Quick Hits plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist in your in-box every week? Let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.MentalMacGyver.com