Pessimist or Optimist

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Personally, I like being happy. Note that being optimistic doesn't mean 'blind to the truth'. It just means that you see the good in things, that's all. Bad stuff happens all the time, I'd rather keep my head up then wallow in angst.

Irrational optimism fuelled the Wall Street excesses, while mild, rational pessimists saw it comming.

Without recognition of what is wrong there is no catalyst for change. Without recognition of how flawed systems are, one believes change will happen smoothly and through personal saviours.

Optimism is delusional and I will not reduce myself to it, regardless of whether I live a few less years because of it.

Irrational optimism fuelled the Wall Street excesses, while mild, rational pessimists saw it comming.

Without recognition of what is wrong there is no catalyst for change. Without recognition of how flawed systems are, one believes change will happen smoothly and through personal saviours.

Optimism is delusional and I will not reduce myself to it, regardless of whether I live a few less years because of it.[/quote

Being optimistic isn't being stupid and not seeing obvious flaws, it's saying 'we can fix this and get things good again'. The Wall Street problems were caused by people gambling away the wealth of millions, the wall street problems were caused by parasites. Optimism doesn't equal being a parasite, in fact it's got nothing to do with it at all.

But if you honestly think that seeing that good in things is something you are 'reduced' to doing, then that's not really my problem.

More of a realist.

Honestly I'm more optimistic, but people would say I'm pessimistic. I can get discouraged easily by other people, but I don't get discouraged easily by situations at all.

I definately look for the negatives of a given situation and attempt to avoid them.

Optimism is about erring on the side of "things are going alright or can be readily fixed". If you think things "aren't really that bad then there's less of an incentive to address various social problems. Furthemore, which of the people below would you trust as a better reformist?

Person O: Oh, boy, things are good and we'll easily get change through! Hope, unity, change; hope, unity, change!

Person P: The path to reform will be long, costly, done with much blowback from the elite sectors of society, and may end up disasterous if we don't do things right. It won't come from any given "saviour", rather it'll take a lot of grassroots, bottom-up, organizing to pressure institutions for structural reform. It'll be a long road fought with much fustration.

I'm not sure about you, but I'd trust person P a lot more than person O when it comes to implementing structural reforms.



Optimism does somewhat correlate with complacency and getting screwed over. As Barbara Ehrenreich has documented a culture of overoptimism reigned supreme over Wall Street - anyone thinking that this bubble might burst being fired as a sour sport.



This is a forum for rational debate. You've presented what I conceive of as a poor rationalization, I've criticized it as such, and the discussion has preceded. I see none of this as externalizing a "problem" of mine but rather as in arguing for my worldview.

I'm an optimistic realist, and that is NOT a contradiction. If religion is the opiate of the masses, philosophy is the LSD.

Pessimism is always assuming the worst. Realism is always remaining aware the good and bad things can and do happen. They are not the same thing at all.

Well, in terms of whether I'm pessimistic or optimistic? I'd say that at various times I've been on either side of the equation as I've had some people think that all I do is whine & complian while on the other hand, some people admire my courage of heart to not let some variables get me down.. I would say more but, it would be like some sort of psychotherapy session and unfortunately, I wish not to have my internal demons known to all a this time..

Depends on the situation.

As a pessimist, I am never disappointed. I am always either proven right or pleasantly surprised.

I've been a pessimist for most of my life, but now I think I'm more of a realist.

Really depends on the situation, in my case.

I tend to be more of a pessimist though.

Then you're a defensive pessimist?

Currently I'm optmistic at this moment..

With optimism and drive, you can accomplish anything. The optimism allows you to see forward and opens hope - your goal becomes apparent. Drive allows you to overcome all odds to achieve your goal.

Pessimism is more akin to being a fatalist (no power to change your fate). Anyone who realizes that one's future is written by one's actions, is not a pessimist. You have the power to change your future...that much is plain. You can change your health through healthful eating (of course, up to your genetic potential...), exercise, and sound sleep. Your mental state ( barring off kilter physical variables- a product of genetics - how much and in what ratios your neurotransmitters/hormones are in), can be altered somewhat,often times to a healthy degree, through plentiful exercise, healthful diet, plentiful deep sleep, and by attitude. Your economic potential is raised by educating yourself so you may be more marketable, or even better, by creating your own business...etc. The capability to alter your course is undeniable.

The way I see it:

A pessimist is a cork at the mercy of the tides. It is safe as you have no expectations of yourself. To know that you are the captain of your ship, able to buck the tides of fate through your helmsmanship, takes effort, but offers freedom. The effort is a result of drive. The drive is derived from passion. To have passion, you must be able to see an end result, or at least a clear knowledge that the path taken is the correct one. To have a clear vision of the future, coupled with the knowledge that it is reachable through your efforts, is optimism. Your ship is powered by the winds of passion, and steered by applied intelligence. The stronger your passion, the fuller your sails, and so, the faster you shall go. The more efficient your plan for the future, the more efficient the path the ship shall take. Both speed up the transit. With both in place, you may also take time to enjoy the clouds, seabirds, and the sunsets as you effectively move toward your goal. You have a firm knowledge that you are moving steadily forward, and so, your life is in perspective. Little things don't bother you (for long), and you may enjoy the process. That is the key to mental health fitness. The more you advance, the easier life becomes, and the richer the experiences. There are no dark clouds on the immediate horizon, and you have the knowledge that, with your solidly built ship, you could weather any storm.

Any one that has experienced life, already knows the feeling of winning, of accomplishment. You already know that it can be achieved through effort. You, as Aspies (my wife would disagree with my grammar, she would say I should have put "we" instead of "you" - but that is another story), have a strength. You have the capability of tremendous concentration. That is a great genetic gift. Don't concentrate on your deficits. Concentrate on your strengths. You can focus on a task and fully master it. Once you realize this, you are on the way to mastering anything you truly desire. You can outwork your competitors. Drive is THE most important component in success. You are compelled to practice your craft far beyond the limits of those with less passion. Through repetition, you will master. Through mastery, you shall find success. Nothing drives success more than success. Once you know you can master something, you know, with enough applied effort, you can master anything. Life becomes thoroughly enjoyable. You will realize the energy and strength of the gods, which in turn, allows you to drive on further and faster. That is being on a Positive Spiral. Life becomes easier and more enjoyable the higher up you go. I go into this Positive/Negative Spiral way of thinking in my Blog on my son. Should you be interested, just click on my link at my signature (OK...shameless blog plug over).

Looking at the whole picture and weighing and measuring the probabilities of negative outcomes is rational thinking (realist). To be a realist with expanded horizons, is an optimist. To not do something out of fear of possible negative consequences is pessimism - besides being plain stupid. NO - all of you self proclaimed pessimists are not stupid...it is just...you are not pessimists. There is hope in your hearts...you wouldn't be here otherwise. My heart goes out to you (Aspies - or us...as it were). Many of you don't realize the shallowness in so many NTs. Your strength lies in your earnest and straight forward thinking, depth of mind and heart, and tremendous focus. You need not be an Aspie to have a pure heart...but it sure helps OK...Rant over. Know that what I preach is borne of experience.

I'm an optimist. I try to find good in every situation I come across. It makes me feel better, because if I let myself focus on the bad parts, I get depressed. Besides, my brother is a major pessimist, so somebody in the house has to balance out his negative attitude with a positive one.