Why can't humanity be more positive?

Well, first, I disagree with your premise that humanity is mostly negative.

Second, I do not see that being positive translates to smiling at strangers, which, if you are a woman, can be dangerous.

As for why store clerks are moody: it’s the holidays; they’re really busy; and the pay sucks.

I think you get what you project. If I’m gloomy, I only perceive gloominess. If I’m cheerful, even if it feels a bit forced sometimes, people are cheerful back. I think it’s your demeanor that needs to be changed, if you’re seeing a sad and pissy world everywhere.

Our human tendency is to get wrapped up in ourselves. When we live in our own bubbles, we focus on our wants. Life starts to feel like a big struggle, a series of obstacles separating us from our wants. People aren’t the way we want them to be; our agenda is always being frustrated by unwelcome set-backs.

The world looks a lot better from outside the bubble. Things and people just are the way they are, and that’s perfectly fine. You occasionally meet people who have this attitude of open acceptance, and just being around them changes how you feel too. They so obviously enjoy what is instead of wishing things were otherwise.

Why should I? Why do I have a responsibility to make others feel a certain way – aren’t we each responsible for our own emotions, thoughts, mental health? Isn’t it placing quite a bit on me to say that I should smile and that will make the other person ok, when they could be really depressed (random chemical imbalance, are worried about being homeless, just got raped, etc)? Why do I have to interact with the store clerks, the random people in everyday life, if I don’t want to? Happiness isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula, what creates it is different in every person.

If they think positively, that stressful thing will change to just something bright! That is incorrect. The Pollyanna thing is really much, much more complicated than that, and forcing yourself to feel the Pollyanna actually has the exact opposite effect – it makes you less happy than before. Which is why it’s actually bad when employers require their employees to smile, even if they don’t feel it.

What you are describing is a personality characteristic called “Positivity.”

Positivity
You are generous with praise, quick to smile, and always on the lookout for the positive in the situation. Some call you lighthearted. Others just wish that their glass were as full as yours seems to be. But either way, people want to be around you. Their world looks better around you because your enthusiasm is contagious. Lacking your energy and optimism, some find their world drab with repetition or, worse, heavy with pressure. You seem to find a way to lighten their spirit. You inject drama into every project. You celebrate every achievement. You find ways to make everything more exciting and more vital. Some cynics may reject your energy, but you are rarely dragged down. Your Positivity won’t allow it. Somehow you can’t quite escape your conviction that it is good to be alive, that work can be fun, and that no matter what the setbacks, one must never lose one’s sense of humor. Source

Positivity is one of the 34 Strengths idenfified by The Gallup Organization. We all have a certain degree of Positivity in our personalities, but for some, it is much stronger.

I’ve worked / been friends with several people who are strong with Positivity. At first, I thought that it was a facade and kept waiting for their true colors to show. It rarely, if ever, happened. What always amazes me is how they can keep their spirits up when in a situation filled with negativity. Yet they often do.

As for the occasional energy-sucking person, particularly in the shops, we just never know what is on their mind. Some people are hired because they have a pulse and not for their customer service skills. It could be because they have personal problems that seem overwhelming to them.

What I’ve learned is that these energy-suckers can sap the positive mood out of us. Consider them psychic vampires. For people with Positivity, it’s fairly easy to bounce back after being in contact with one. For the rest, it can be a bit more challenging to either keep the mood on top.

Just stay true to yourself and learn that many others are not like you. Sometimes, a positive mood will be contagious; sometimes not. All you can do is hope for the best and expect the worst. Good luck friend.

Many people do not know what really matters. They pursue material wealth and become obsessed with it. They become negative because they are surrounded by like minded people.
Money is a means to an end but; without family and friends material wealth does not make people happy.

I agree completely with @JilltheTooth I’d imagine this is something within yourself as opposed to external issues.

To answer your question – they can. You need a change of venue.

This world is full of different views and feelings. Some people enjoy being grouchy and sad.
Some people have filters up over sad or positive.
It is all kind of realitive anyway. Whay is positive to you may not be to another. What is negative to you, may be someone just being off.
What would the world be like if we were all Shiny Happy People?
If you smile at someone, do you expect something in return? Some people find even eye contact a negative.
It’s all a journey. Make the most of it. Do what you enjoy, but don’t expect you can change someone with a smile or even a conversation. It’s up to them.

@Pied_Pfeffer Thank you for introducing me to the term ‘positivity.’ I find the lack of it in so many people a real drag. If I smile and the person doesn’t smile back, that’s fine, but it’s a missed opportunity to feel part of a community of at least 2 people. No one has to interact with anyone, but I find the ability to have empathy for someone else, regardless of what’s going on in my own life, very gratifying. So I smile back at the salesperson, at the janitor in my building, at the person standing in front of or behind me standing in line, at the other patients sitting in the waiting room. We’re all in this together and I try to make my community wider and wider. Why not? Am I always cheerful? By no means. But I smile at others for them, not for me.

Because we’re humanity.

why can’t folks get it through their heads that we aren’t all the same?

I find plenty of cheerful folks in my life, and plenty of the opposite, too. People are in different moods, different places in their lives… who knows? Just be you, and let everyone else be who they are, too.

Humanity is positive a lot of the time. Which it should be given credit for, given how much shit so many people have to constantly wad through.