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greyasp
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30 Jul 2020, 1:46 pm

I've been having some trouble lately with being a pessimist.
I try to keep a positive outlook in life but I've noticed patterns in the world and people around me.
These patterns almost always go as predicted. Because I've seen the same thing happening over and over again.
When I see this happening is it pessimism to call it like I've seen it and it has occurred.
Or is it realistic.
I'm probably explaining this very badly.
I'm not in a position to effect change in 99% of the things around me.


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magz
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30 Jul 2020, 2:11 pm

Bad things do happen.
Good things do happen.
Realism is an ability to acknowledge both. Serenity prayer: improve what can be improved, accept what can't be improved and know the difference.


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Feyokien
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30 Jul 2020, 2:13 pm

I pulled this quote from a sketchy website, but the quote still stands:

Quote:
Pessimism involves looking at the world in a way that emphasizes negativity, whereas, realism is more about truth and objectivity — not necessarily seeing a situation as bad, just seeing it as something to be dealt with.



RadioDog
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05 Aug 2020, 6:40 pm

Pessimism vs Realism is like Movement vs Action.

Pessimism wallows and wades around in the muck, but doesn't really accomplish much. "I'm up to my hips in ****, and it's just everywhere!"

Realism acknowledges what's actually there and happening, but takes action. "I'm currently up to my hips in ****, but since I can't see past the fence I have no idea how far it actually goes. I'm going to figure out how to slog over there and take a look. Then I will have more data to make my next decision."

My personal philosophy / action mantra is:

"The World is crap. How can I have a happy life anyway?" And then I act on that :)


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robotrecall
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09 Sep 2020, 6:39 pm

Pessimism is thinking "everything that could go wrong, will go wrong" It's usually everything=bad. Realism just accepts that bad and good things happen. Most people that are pessimistic either claim they're realists or acknowledge that they're pessimists. Either way, just stay away from pessimistic people, because they suck the life out of you.



uncommondenominator
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28 Sep 2020, 2:43 am

Most lives are a mix of good and bad. Sometimes more good happens, sometimes more bad happens, but overall it's generally a mix, even if biased to one side or the other. An optimist sees the good more than the bad, even though both happen, even if more bad may happen than good. A pessimist sees more bad than good, even though they both happen, even if more good happens than bad. A realist sees the good and the bad as they are, and is neither consumed by the negative nor blinded by the positive.

The tricky part is - some people have unreasonably high expectations of the world, and when these expectations are consistently unmet, life gets labeled as "bad" - and some people have little or no expectation, and anything at all is better than nothing, and life is fine as long as it's not as bad as it could be.



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28 Sep 2020, 8:42 am

An optimist sees the glass as half-full.

A pessimist sees the glass as half-empty.

A realist is not concerned with how much is in the glass; but only if the contents are good to drink.


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nick007
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28 Sep 2020, 10:06 am

Fnord wrote:
An optimist sees the glass as half-full.

A pessimist sees the glass as half-empty.

A realist is not concerned with how much is in the glass; but only if the contents are good to drink.
I like that.

What does it mean if you hope for the best but experience has taught you to expect the worst :?: It's kinda like that saying, "hope for the best but prepare for the worst". Is that realism :?:


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28 Sep 2020, 10:38 am

Pessimism needs a train set. Realism already has one.


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Fnord
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28 Sep 2020, 10:45 am

nick007 wrote:
Fnord wrote:
An optimist sees the glass as half-full.

A pessimist sees the glass as half-empty.

A realist is not concerned with how much is in the glass; but only if the contents are good to drink.
I like that.

What does it mean if you hope for the best but experience has taught you to expect the worst :?: It's kinda like that saying, "hope for the best but prepare for the worst". Is that realism :?:
That is wisdom.


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shortfatbalduglyman
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28 Sep 2020, 3:49 pm

Splitting fine hairs

Dictionary definition

One event could be good for someone and bad for someone else

7 billion population

You can't measure the quality

Anyone could correctly say anything is good or bad



MrsPeel
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03 Oct 2020, 10:44 pm

I feel like there's an expectation in modern society that one is supposed to present a facade of optimism.
It always seems like my realism gets mistaken for pessimism, if I dare to suggest that something less than optimal might happen.
It's like realism is is fine as long as it favours good results, but as soon as one suggests a possible negative outcome one is labelled a pessimist.



nick007
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04 Oct 2020, 9:18 am

MrsPeel wrote:
I feel like there's an expectation in modern society that one is supposed to present a facade of optimism.
It always seems like my realism gets mistaken for pessimism, if I dare to suggest that something less than optimal might happen.
It's like realism is is fine as long as it favours good results, but as soon as one suggests a possible negative outcome one is labelled a pessimist.
I think it's realism if you try your best for a good result but don't expect it to happen. Like if there is an election & you live in an area where most people have oposit political opinions to you & you still decide to vote instead of completely giving up on the process & not even trying.


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