The pessimists guide to optimism.

You are surrounded by darkness. Everything poking out from the world has been produced by the morons who create the media. The political system is a sham, the economic system in shambles. Your co-workers need constant derailing lest their asinine ideas see the light of day. You hate people in general and the things they do and use on a daily basis.
As much fun as it is to sit in your ivory tower of enlightened cynicism toward your fellow beings. The fact of the matter is that pessimism just doesn't get you very far. Hate your co-workers? Well adding a broody know-it-all to the mix isn't making the workplace any better.
It's taken me a long time to see this, but maybe I can boil down some simple steps to turn your totally justified pessimism into just a hint of optimistic usefulness next time around.

1. Find at least one thing to be happy about all day: Related to all the stuff that's pissing you off. Work sucking hard? Take a moment to appreciate how much you've gotten done this week. Cranky at the people you work with? Think of at least one attribute of theirs you appreciate. You'll be surprised how much it helps to take the edge off if you can see one seed of light in the middle of the darkness.

2. Stay away from the news: Every day you'll see new horrific stories of 'whole family slain' and 'how bad is the economy'. The news media thrives on shock-value stories and we can't seem to pull ourselves away from the car-wreck of them finding the most debase acts people can do to each other and splash it all over the top headline links. Do yourself a favor, stay away from the news, all news for at least one whole day. You'll be amazed how much other good stuff your brain can use to fill the time.

3. Get out and exercise: Got a mid-day hate on? Take a walk. Tough day on the job? Hit the gym right after work. Nothing combats the desire to rage like pumping your brain full of endorphins. Not only will you be getting your own private party on from nature's own happy-drug on, but you'll be getting healthy while you do it.

4. Make small changes: Most pessimists I know (the vast majority of which are myself) love nothing better than to sit from on high and espouse our manifestos built of skepticism down-to-earth thinking. It's easy to feel that the whole world is full of wrong and there's not much we can do to make a difference. The difference between a pessimist and an activist, is the will to take action. One of the key problem-solving techniques is to break big problems into smaller ones and solve the little problems first. And just like the idea that just getting started on a huge daunting pile of work will help build momentum to finish it off. So to will pessimism start to give way to hope and *gasp* optimism once you see some small changes you've made having a positive effect on the world you're so eager to be angry at.