Cranky people are very hard to tolerate.  There are so many words to describe the crankiness of humans.  Many more than I had imagined.  In one reference I found, which described  ill-tempered or irritable as the first definition of cranky, there were 55 synonyms referenced.

They all “fit” the meaning that I would use to describe the temperament of a person who was cranky.  That leads me to form the conclusion that cranky people are indeed very difficult to understand.

Now, I expect every one of us has periods in our lives in which we behave in a cranky manner.  But that is not what I mean by a cranky person.  Cranky people tend to exhibit behaviors that chronically describe their behavior by using the following synonyms.  Words such as:  bad-tempered, irritable, irascible, techy, testy, grouchy, peevish and cross, are some of them.  There are so many other descriptive words and phrases, as I said, 55 of them in just one dictionary source.

I wonder if such people were born that way, or were a product of their environment and the people around them.  But, as I am sure most people have experienced, there are babies who are happy and smiling soon after birth, and that it is just in their nature to be that way.  If so, it would seem to follow that a person could be born cranky. Could it be that a characteristic of crankiness could start soon after birth as well?

Anyway, I find it so sad and difficult to understand that one could be destined to carry the attitude and demeanor of a cranky person from the very beginning of his or her life.  But even if that was so, couldn’t a person decide that they want to react differently?  I can not fathom a life so dismal that one sees things through a negative lens their whole life through.  Maybe a positive way to approach a cranky person is just to be so ridiculously positive and happy that they begin to consider changing the way in which they behave.  Maybe not.  But even if the effort is unsuccessful,  I think it is worth a try to give cranky people a reason to smile.  So, that’s my plan.  Want to join me in this effort?  It can’t hurt and it could be a small step to help a fellow human be more positive.  All one can do is try.  But be prepared to duck!