Negative vs Grateful

I seem to be surrounded by negative friends or are they really friends?. Why do they shoose me to befriend/cling to? They  surround me because I listen to them. I am trained to be a listener thru family upbringing and toastmasters. Yes I would like a turn speaking but with these negative friends, they don't want to hear anything good so that keeps me very quiet.
Yes I have been known to have negative thoughts and let's be honest here everyone has them at one time or another. It is what you chose to do with the thoughts that make the difference in your personality. This spring I was in a negative type depressed state and really wondered what life was all about and wondered if I could handle the health issues I was dealing with. Life just wasn't a pleasure anymore. I'm not one to stay in a state like this and it took a lot to put me there. I am the type of person for the last five years who wakes up every morning with a smile on my face. Why! Because I woke up! There were many times when i didn't think I would see morning so each wake up was special until I got to my negative state. That is when I put myself in the hands of a higher being. It worked because when i awoke in the morning I was cured (maybe briefly) of the problem that had kept me from enjoying life. It was a very bad heart beat and suddenly it decided to behave like a normal heart. Here is where Grateful comes in.. Yes I was and still am very Grateful. In fact quite often before going to sleep I list the things that I am grateful for.It is a wonderful exercise and needs to be done often. A negative friend of mine phoned me and said he was at an all time low.. He was looking for me to boost him. I suggested he write down at least ten things in life he was grateful  for. He did and I got an early morning phone call telling me that he felt great and slept the entire night.It worked!