[josht]

You have more control over your thoughts than you think you do -- it's a muscle like any other that gets stronger with practice. The next time you find yourself being cynical, try this:

Take a moment to mentally step away from your cynical thought seeds. Observe them from an omniscient, non-judgemental point-of-view, as best as you can.

Like a farmer looking over his land, he knows nothing on his farm can affect him unless he allows it to affect him. As the observer, you gets to decide what thoughts to water and grow. The flip side is equally true too -- deprive negative thoughts of attention and resources and they'll pass.