Optimism vs. Pessimism

[Scribs]

Now I think that this is an interesting topic which could be interesting to discuss. What are you, a pessimist or optimist? Why? Does It really matter?

I myself am an incureable pessimist. (That glass over there is half, if not three quarters empty, Don't try to convince me otherwise.)

This is why I support pessimism: If Bill (a theoretical entity) looks at a glass as half full, he will come up and take a nice long drink. and lo and behold the glass is now empty, Bill is now disapointed that there is no more left. If Bill comes in and sees that the glass is half empty, he realizes that he had better make the best of the situation by drinking that glass nice and slow. When he reaches the end he is prepared to deal with the fact that there is no more water. Bill number one is now less happy than Bill number two because Bill number two was prepared for the worst.

I don't think that this is the most important of subjects but I still think It merits some thought and discussion.

(I hope that this is the right place for this thread, if not please move it)

[Mr. SmartyPants]

wow! contradictory!

[Madeline]

Naturally, I am a pessimist.
But God makes me an optimist, because in Him there is hope! ^_^

[Raiden no Kishi]

I tend towards mild pessimism, particularly when my blood sugar runs low.

But I'm more optimistic after I've had a Mountain Dew.

Rai

[Scribs]

All, right perhaps I ought to better define what I consider pessimism

By pessimistic I meen that if two things are equally likely to happen I would suspect that the less favorable thing would happen. The reason that I would think this is because, if I think that the bad thing will happen, either It will and I will be prepared, or the good thing will happen and I will be pleasantly supprised. If I were tos suspect that the good thing will hapen, either it will, and I will be right in my assumpion, or The bad thing will happen and I will be dissapointed. Either way I may be suprised, but if I am pessimistic, the suprise will be a happy one.

Some things are certain (things that God promises, for one) and the rules of pessimism and optimism dont apply to them.

[Nate]

Piloswine, I agree with you 1,000%. I am a pessimist to the nth degree.

By the way, there are four types of people in the world, each defined by what they say when they see a glass of water filled to only half-capacity:

Person 1: "The glass is half-full."
Person 2: "The glass is half-empty."
Person 3: "It's half-full...no, wait, half-empty...no, maybe half-full..."
Person 4: "Hey! I ordered a cheeseburger!"

(Heh heh...Piloswine...Lorelei has a Piloswine the second time you go against her in FireRed/LeafGreen)

[CobaltAngel]

Bleh... i'm a pessimist. For the same reason as you, really - I don't like to get my hopes up. I'm worried about being dissapointed, so I always assume the worst. Although, sometimes I think I'm a bit too much that way. When I think something might, maybe not go the way I planned it to, I freak out. If I believe someone is mad at be a avoid them because It makes me upset to think that I might be annoying them.
Today, for example, I was convenced that everyone on the cross country team was mad at me for doing do poorly at the last meet, that instead of going outside to ice my legs with them, i just did it by my lonesome self in the locker room. Now that I think of it, that was probably more likely to make them feel hurt and mad at me than just doing badly in one race. I'm just a loser. ><

[Scribs]

I Know far to many #4s

Don't let your pessimism depress you Cobaltangle, I'm sure your not a loser. everybody has bad days!

(Heh heh...Piloswine...Lorelei has a Piloswine the second time you go against her in FireRed/LeafGreen)

I would have gotten that game but I dont have a GBA and don't want to spend my money on one just for one game!

[AsterlonKnight]

I'm both. The glass is neither half full, nor half empty, but at equilibrium and is constantly changing. I'm pessimistic about somethings, optimistic about others.

[Raiden no Kishi]

Kaemmerite- Person number three is John Kerry, right?

Rai

[Nate]

Rai,

That wasn't the intention, but now that you mention it...

[ShiroiHikari]

Kaemmerite- Person number three is John Kerry, right?

hahahaha!

I am probably 75% pessimist. o_O sometimes I can be optimistic about little things, but when it comes to big stuff like my future or a job, etc, I'm EXTREMELY pessimistic. bleh. it's not fun sometimes. but I don't handle disappointment well, so I try not to get my hopes up much.

[Scribs]

At the risk of being too political, I must agree whole heartedly about Kerry, but...

We got to be careful about political stuff or we could get shut down!

[ShiroiHikari]

lol, yeah...*puts a sign on the wall: "NO POLITICS"* hehe. seriously though. back on topic. :]

[SManBeyond]

I used to be a pessimist, mainly because of a lot of negative experiences I had in high school and in my church youth group.

However, sometime immediately after that I got a good look at myself and realized that the anger I had inside was doing me a lot of harm. Thus I turned to God for relief and healing, and somehow He began the proces of healing me. I still have some of those wounds, but I do feel like most of it is behind me now.

So now I'm an optimist, which is awesome. I do get pessimistic every once in a while, but very rarely.

[Scribs]

Oh hey you are a mod arn't you!

I would have thought that a mod would have shut that down already, but I am pleasently suprised. (see how great it is to be a pessimist)

[Debitt]

I'm a pessimist. It's my secret to happiness. I know to anticipate the worst, so when the best happens, it's always a wonderful surprise. I only have the capacity to anticipate one good thing, and that's Paradise.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

i'd say, at first i am pessimistic, then i go like "oh yeah! gotta think on the bright side!" then i become optimistic

[Drix]

Pessimism accomplishes nothing, that's the only problem with it. It doesn't look for hope, it doesn't strive for the better, and yet rather expects the worst.

Sure, you're prepared for the worst, but something needs to be said for someone striving for better. If you hold energy, resources, or whatever inreserve to handle the worst, that energy, resources, or whatever usually reaches it's expiration date and/or is wasted.

Now I'm one for the middle path on some level, but I heavily lean tward the optomist side. If we expect the worst, often we get the worst, simply because we don't reach out for something better.

Imperfection is a flaw built into us for a reason. It is true that we can, do, and will fail at the mundane. But focusing on our failures only leaves us stopped at that failure. Some would say, "But if we do not learn from our mistakes, we are sure to repeat them." This is true, but so many get hung up on the finite details, so much that they stumble even further on the path in front of them. Learn it's lessons and move on.

Furthermore... If you've accepted the wonderful gift of salvation God has given you, then why do you expect the worst, eh? When victory is assured, why would you prepare for defeat? Only a fool doesn't prepare for battle when war is upon them. I tell you this, we are in the war already. If you aren't ready, you need to get ready. If you are ready, then hold tight to the knowledge that was given to us in Matthew 28:20 (I quote from the NLT here) "And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." For you are never alone.

I end this bit of a rant with a rephrase of a previous question, "Why prepare for failure when victory is assured?"

[Azier the Swordsman]

I'm optimisitic. I have major goals and I will not stop till I achieve them. I also have full faith in myself I will achieve them. It's not hard being optimistic, you just have to want to be.

A good key is to never worry about anything, (in most cases) since roughly 98% of our worries never come true anyways.

[Nate]

Sorry about the double post...stupid dial up...

[Nate]

I will answer, Drix. BTW I'm not ranting! I'm not flaming! I'm not saying you're wrong! I respect you! I don't want to make you or a mod mad! Please like me!

Um, I have hope in the fact that when I die, I will be with God in Heaven. Therefore, I do have hope about that. I do not have hope as far as things in this earth. This world is imperfect, and Satan has a lot of say in it. Therfore, I do not like to hope for the best because I know I'm probably not going to get it.

This only applies to things out of my control. If I am attempting to do something like fix a broken outlet or build a jungle gym, I will be positive about it and try my best. However, if it is something that attitude CANNOT possibly have an effect on, such as trying to do something in a video game, entering a contest, wondering if it's going to rain tomorrow...I am absolutely pessimistic, as my attitude will have absolutely no bearing on the results in those circumstances.

See? It wasn't that bad! And I didn't insult you, 'cuz you're kewl!

[Azier the Swordsman]

My natural response to change is I simply adapt. Part of my optimism is because I'm more of a 'go with the flow' kind of guy.

[Ingemar]

I'm mostly pessimistic. But considering my fortunate circumstances, I have no right to be. I'm trying to change that.

[Kura Ookami]

I'm an optimist and i think the best way is to prepare for the worst as best you can, but expect the best. At least that's what i always try to do.

Belief is a very powerful thing. If you dont believe you can do something you'll give up thus proving yourself right. On the other hand if you believe you can do something you wont give up until you succeed thus proving yourself right again.

Just my 2 cents.

[cbwing0]

I would have to say that I am an optimist. If you always think that good things are going to happen to you, then it makes it that much better when they do; and, even if they don't you are happier in the moment that you considered them to be possible.

A lot of people have mentioned that having low expectations helps you avoid disappointment. The flip side of that is that you will have a lot more stress from worrying about unfortunate events that will probably never happen. Obviously this is not good for you.

Although our ultimate hope is in the afterlife, I still think it is possible to have joy in this world. For example, I have lots of fun with my Christian friends, and I seriously doubt that that could be called "putting stock in the world." It is also important to be thankful for the blessings that God has given to us, and this requires a fair amount of optimism.

[uc pseudonym]

Under the current definitions, I believe I fall into neither category. In general I would call myself a realist: the glass is both half full and half empty (imagine that, there isn't a simple answer to everything). In general, I expect no specific circumstance unless it is extremely likely (the sun rising, God, etc). As much as possible I avoid worrying, either before an unknown event or after a negative one. In this area I have a fair amount of room to grow.

On the other hand, I have been called a pessemist by some because I always consider the negative outcome as well as the positive. For example, after viewing #3 the possibility of what happened came to mind. I was not worrying about it, but it hardly took me by surprise.

[Kisa]

Eh I can be a pessimist. I always look for bad to happen . . .
But as others said, with God that will change one day! ^^

[Gypsy]

I'm an optimist. Probably too much Mary Poppins growing up or something.

[Vyse]

[quote="Gypsy"]I'm an optimist. Probably too much Mary Poppins growing up or something. ]

Gypsy! Do no speak of such evil on this site again
I'm an optimist btw =D