Put on a Happy Face

So being married means having to deal with someone else day in and day out who may have a thing or two about them that isn't exactly like you. Between my husband and I, we have a lot in common, but perhaps one of our biggest differences is our outlook on life in general.

I am a generally positive person. I look for the good in situations, I'm pretty laid back, not too much actually ruffles my feathers. There are a few things that really irk me and get me wound up, but for the most part, I'm optimistic about situations and generally easy going. My husband on the other hand, he is Mr. Pessimist. He believes that if he has a good day today, tomorrow will be terrible. That if his team is behind in the first quarter, they've already lost the game. Little things get him worked up (he gets mad at red lights and seriously blames them on me sometimes, like I have any control). He expects things to go wrong in anything he's doing and decides from the outset of any activity that it will end horribly.

While I am not of the mindset that if you believe in something it will happen or wish for something hard enough, you'll get it, I do believe is Self Fulfilling Prophecies. From my psych days, this was usually used in reference to teaching and teaching methods. If teachers are told "Boys are better at math" they will unconsciously help and assist the boys in the class more during math lessons and due to this extra guidance, the boys end up doing better than girls in math. In Tony's case I see it happening as, he expects to have a bad day, starts off in a bad mood, looks for things to go wrong and declares the whole day bad due to the things he finds. The same things could be nothing on days where he's in a good mood and whistling a happy song, but on the wrong day, they are monumental, horrific events.

It is my wish that one day my optimistic, sunny disposition will rub off on him. I know I shouldn't want to change anything, but his bad moods really get me down sometimes too! My seemingly logical explanations of why he is so angry don't really change anything with him, I think I just have to wait for him to chill out and just be.

Are there any personality traits that your significant other has that really rub you the wrong way or are completely opposite of yours? How do you deal with those?