In Self-Confidence: The Remarkable Truth of Why a Small Change Can Make a Big Difference, Paul McGee introduces us to the wonderful concept of an awfuliser – not a real word, but made up by him, as only he could do.

Awfulisers, well intended and caring as they nearly always mean to be, tend to:

• turn a minor setback into a drama or a crisis
• be life’s worriers
• have a favourite phrase: “That’s awful”
• escalate the seriousness of an issue, thereby leaving you feeling less confident and less able to deal it

And it’s one thing entirely to know how to react when the awfuliser in your life strikes, but what if you’re the awfuliser?  What can you do then?  Mr McGee suggests:

“Become more aware of when you’re awfulising. You may still have a tendency to look on the downside of a situation, but that doesn’t mean you have to automatically share those thoughts with other people. You may think it – but you don’t have to express it.”