Optimist vs Pessimist

[calmao]

I am an optimist myself. So in general I try to look at the positive side of things. If I encounter a problem I always look at how to fix it, whether it's mine or someone else's. In relationships I always look for reasons to make it work instead of why it won't. Don't get me wrong, I do have some bad days some times, but it is hard for me to understand the world of a pessimist. Could someone chip in?

[Ceebs]

I don't necessarily consider myself to be either as a whole. I'm certainly not a constant ray of sunshine and things like anxiety and depression can lead me to feel very pessimistic at times, and better mental states lend themselves to more optimism, but I'm not consistently one or the other. I just try to see things as they are, as best I can.

[ponz]

I usually worry a lot about bad results to any situation, but I then use that worry to prepare and make a bad ending as good as possible.  And I do usually believe that regardless of what happens, I'll be able to make it through ok and/or fix things so everything turns out good.  

 

I guess I'd say I'm a realist/optimist overall.

[Madao]

I must say I am a pessimist, though most of the times I just try to look at things through realistic angle. Whenever I encounter a situation, I think of a hundred ways in which a thing can go wrong, and do my best to avoid that thing from going wrong. Whenever I see any relationship, 80% of times I feel that the relationship is going to be ruined (and somehow it does end up getting ruined) I try not to be hopeful regarding things, because hopes might get crushed one day. 

[Alawyn-Aebt]

Pessimistic in the short run. ex: It will probably rain, people will not solve global warming soon, all my uncles, aunts & cousins will remain LGBTQIA+phobic and Islamophobic, My grandparents will forever hate immigrants (despite the fact their parents were immigrants), etc.

 

Optimistic in the long run. ex: As a whole the world is getting better, Fewer percentages of people die from War in the 21st century than compared to every other known century, Inequality world-wide is not great but is getting better than in the 1800's, etc.

 

I guess I am both, just varies. I prefer to be called a realist, as I try to look at data and people's mindsets before being either pessimistic or optimistic.

[StormySky]

I feel like some people are pessimistic because they don't like to get their hopes up because they fall and fail if things don't work out.

 

Personally, though, I like to get my hopes up even when they fall. If I'm curious how to do something and I fail, I now know a way how not to do it. Failure is imperative to learning!

[Semiterrestrial Scientist]

The Optimistic Look on Pessimism:

 

I am either correct or pleasantly surprised.

[disneydork]

I'm optimistic when it comes to everyone else. I'll look on the bright side for other people, especially the ones i care about and i'll do whatever i can to make them happy in the slightest bit. Sometimes i do try to see things from different points of view; like i'll acknowledge a bad part or side so it's not totally wearing rose colored glasses but that will never be my main focus. I try not to let people see me in a bad mood. Sometimes otherwise lets out around my closest friends, but especially when it comes to work i push most of the pessimistic vibes or feelings aside because that won't make the day go any easier. And a couple of my coworkers have called me 'perky' or a 'ball of sunshine' as a result.

 

I'm a super pessimist when it comes to me though. I think next to nothing about myself, i have very little if any self confidence, i don't have a lot of faith in the things i do and in the worst times in my life where i've gone so far to make a Things Wrong With Me list i desperately tried to balance it out with a Good list only for there to be no more than 3 things on it to counter the 25+ things on the first list.

 

I guess it's like having the best and worst of both worlds.

[DuskFire]

That moment when you realize you grew up to be Squidward...

 

[Epitaph]

I try to look at reality as it simply is. I don't care for optimism or pessimism on the extreme ends. But I know that on a scale I lean towards a pessimist because it pays to be a pessimist. I do not trust people to any degree. So when I meet them, I automatically assume the worst in them. If any of my scenarios or predictions about them turn out to be true, then it means very little to me as I called it. On calling it, I made the choice to continue dealing with them while holding the knowledge that they would eventually slip. When it happens, I'm not disappointed or angry. But should they ever surprise me and turn out wrong in my predictions, then it makes for a pleasant and appreciable turn of events.

 

In being an optimist you leave yourself open to the hard kicks that will come from people or life in general. You have limits. You can't sustain a positive outlook forever. So you inevitably break under pressure. While I'm not explicitely a pessimist, realizing the grunginess of reality and things around me means that I live in a constant state of relative discomfort, depending. But I don't break as I acknowledge that things can and will become worse. I'm always ready for them. Misery is relative. And sometimes there's points in your life where the only thing around you is misery and you have nothing positive to sustain you.

 

[J. van Deijck]

I'm most likely a realist, and trust me, it works. 

[fiѕh]

Pessimist. I thought I wasn't, but then I noticed this whole "don't know don't care what's the point" kind of thinking isn't exactly optimistic either.

[Karoushi]

I used to think I was a pessimist but tbh im a good mixture of both. Depends on the situation and my mood really. 

[Polygon]

I like to prepare for the worst, but hope for the best. Then if things turn out better than I thought I can be happy about that. On the other hand, I can also be prepared for the worst outcome if necessary. I try to see the positive side of situations, so I probably lean more toward optimism?

[All The Thoughts]

I can’t speak for every pessimist but when it comes to myself, I usually expect the bad things to happen and brace myself for those. Things (more likely than not) appear to be negative if interpreted but it’s wrong to assume that I can’t see good things as well. Yes, my outlook is what’s generally viewed as pessimistic, but I’m not COMPLETELY blind to everything else; there are neutral and positive things in this world, I just tend to gravitate more toward the negative side.