It's not always easy to stay positive in a world so full of negativity. All we see in the news these days is bigotry, terrorism, Brexit and Trump. Sure there's people who we appreciate making light of such things like John Oliver, Jonathan Pie and Rachel Parris, but often the comedy world can become dominated by cynicism and political satire.
Rob Auton
There's definitely something important about comedians being free to express their opinions on social and political issues honestly and openly, but there are times when we need a break from all that stuff. That's why we need people like York poet and comedy genius Rob Auton.
He's an Edinburgh Fringe Festival staple and winner of Dave's Funniest Joke Of The Fringe Award in 2013. The difference between him and other comedians is that he likes to stick to topics that aren't divisive and rife with negativity. Such as hair. Or the colour yellow. And while Rob delivers his material in a trademark moody monotone with a deadpan expression, his brand of comedy is far from pessimistic.
"If I'm doing a show and there's people there then I want to deliver an upbeat, positive message for people to take away that the world is actually a remarkable place and it's a miracle that we've all been lucky enough to get born onto it", he told Female First. "I think if you're doing a tour with quite a few dates on it and you're delivering a negative message every night, it must really put you in a bit of a black hole."
As an example, his Sleep Show was all about "making the most of the time when you're awake" and allowed him to explore his own issues with anxiety and why he loves to sleep so much. He's currently touring his Talk Show, which is - as you can probably guess - all about talking.
"[It's about] me trying to say to myself every night 'Come on you've only got one chance to say something that you mean to your friend or be nice to someone in a lift'", he said. "It is all about positivity because there's so much negativity."
"I struggle with the news all the time", he continued. "I don't want to let a few people spoil my experience of being alive on earth. I just can't believe I've been born into a world where guns and pianos co-exist at the same time."
That doesn't mean that he's afraid to get political when it comes to his writing. "I'd like to think that it's political without mentioning politics", he mused. "I know that there's people who are doing a good service to Brexit and things like that and there are some great shows about Brexit [but] I only want to write shows about things that no-one can tell me how I feel about."
Despite his positive outlook on life, he's no stranger to mental health issues. He suggests he's "probably undiagnosed for quite a lot of things" and occasionally finds himself spending too much time alone.
"You're the first person I've spoken to today, I've literally not talked to anyone else", he confessed. "It's strange - you need to be around people. Even if it's just a conversation in the supermarket. Spending a vast amount of time in isolation is not great. It's like when you leave a dog on its own all day; when you come back the dog's really wagging its tail and it's just so happy to be around people again. I feel exactly like that. But it's all self-inflicted."
Some of his insecurities manifest themselves in anxious thoughts that are occasionally completely unfounded. He explained how he was once performing in Brighton at the Old Market and recognised two members of the audience from a previous show who he was convinced did not enjoy his performance.
"I saw them talking after that gig at the Caroline of Brunswick and I thought that they hated it", he said. "There was only three people there and they were really quiet and I thought that they hated it and the gig had been a disaster but they said 'No, we loved it!' But my brain had told me that they obviously hated the gig and were discussing how bad it was outside."
Of course, there are always going to be people who do hate your work no matter how many other people love it, as he found out when a clip from his Comedy Central spot went viral on Facebook with more than seven million views. He still receives some negative comments regarding his performance, but he prefers to avoid engaging with that sort of negativity.
"I always try to see the good in people and those people, they want to do that because they think that because it was on TV and because it's on the internet, it kind of takes the reality out of a person", he explains. "They probably don't realise I had to try out for that quite a few times to get on that show and how much work you have to do to get there."
"Some people like it, some people don't and that's completely fair enough. There's loads of stuff that I don't like", he went on. "But I don't go on the internet and tell people how much I don't like their stuff, I don't really see the point. And I think the people who do do that, they've obviously got more stuff going on at home."
Rob Auton is currently performing his biggest ever nationwide tour with The Talk Show which will culminate in five consecutive performances at London's Soho Theatre in May. Get tickets here.