Cynicism is an assumption or theory that people are inherently selfish, dishonest, and greedy, which acts as a protective shield that ultimately limits one's life and potential for connection.

“what cynicism is is when we allow disappointment to morph into what I call pre- disappointment say well the best way for me to not get hurt again is to lower my expectations of everyone and not ever have hope in anything now that's a great way to not be disappointed it's also a terrific way to shrin”

He defines cynicism as a mechanism that originates from a wound and uses critique to avoid risks and pain.

“cynicism says there is there's nothing new to make here often cynicism presents itself as a wisdom but it usually comes from a wound cynicism holds things at a distance analyzing and mocking and noting all the possibilities for failure pain calls us cynics to critique and ridicule”

Cynicism can be an intellectual form of laziness that avoids the effort of questioning one's beliefs, or a defense mechanism used to protect oneself from being hurt by further disappointments.

“it can also be a a very hardworking discipline whereby we spend a lot of energy protecting ourselves against potential hurt”