# Are you an optimist or a pessimist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124 "2011-11-07T01:45:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/1 "2011-11-07T01:45:40Z")
Is the glass half empty for you, or is it half full? ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/2 "2011-11-07T01:46:45Z")
Pessimist. If you assume the worst and it never happens, that’s good. If you assume the best and the worst happens, that’s not good. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/3 "2011-11-07T01:47:51Z")
VERY much an optimist. I’d have killed myself before my 16th birthday if I was a pessimist. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/4 "2011-11-07T01:58:14Z")
I can’t identify with either, I call myself a realist… sometimes expecting a good outcome is logical. Depends on the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/5 "2011-11-07T02:11:21Z")
I go both ways depending on the situation and my current mood swing. Sometimes I am stupidly optimistic other times overwhelmingly pessimistic. I would like to be more evenly realistic. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/6 "2011-11-07T02:13:49Z")
I can go both ways. My natural personality is optimistic, but life has beaten some of it out of me. ---
**Author:** ![ballardfam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@ballardfam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ballardfam)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/7 "2011-11-07T02:34:39Z")
I’m a pessimist when everyone else is an optimist & an optimist when everyone else is a pessimist. I don’t know if this is because I’m most comfortable with the median in general and feel a need to move the mood towards there or if I’m just really, really contrary. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/8 "2011-11-07T02:39:26Z")
I vacillate between the two. At my heart, I am an optimist. In my life, I am a pessimist. Sometimes the two get mixed up. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/9 "2011-11-07T03:21:00Z")
As Dan O’Neill said…somebody stole my glass! ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/10 "2011-11-07T03:24:43Z")
My glass is half full. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/11 "2011-11-07T03:26:19Z")
My glass is neither half full, nor half empty; my glass is too big. If I had a smaller glass, it would be full. Everyone deserves a full glass, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/12 "2011-11-07T03:27:45Z")
I am a realist. It often seems like pessimism until they learn **I was right,** dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/13 "2011-11-07T03:39:03Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Is the glass half empty for you, or is it half full? > [@kayT](#): > > Pessimist. If you assume the worst and it never happens, that’s good. If you assume the best and the worst happens, that’s not good. Is it a question of what we **expect** , or of what we **focus on**? If it’s a matter of what we focus on—like, being thankful for what you do have instead of miserable for what you don’t have, which is what the “glass half full vs. half empty” thing implies—I try, at least, to be an optimist. If it’s a matter of what we expect to happen to us… I guess my natural tendency is to expect that nothing particularly good **or** particularly bad will generally happen to me. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/14 "2011-11-07T04:08:43Z")
Guess I’m both. I’m confident that I will succeed at what I attempt. However, along the way I’m usually planning for the worst that might get in the way. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/15 "2011-11-07T14:48:53Z")
I am an optimistic realist, or a cynical optimist. Expect the best, prepare for the worst. MY attitude is not “The glass is half-empty” or “the glass is half-full” but “HEY! I got a glass!” Be grateful for what you have, in other words. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/16 "2011-11-07T14:51:46Z")
Optimism is the first step to disappointment. I’m a pessimist. ETA: Oh, and get away from my damn glass. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/17 "2011-11-07T14:56:56Z")
An optimist. But I don’t believe it will last. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/18 "2011-11-07T15:05:26Z")
I’d call myself a [learned optimist](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400078393/ref=asc_df_14000783931769610?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=1400078393), as defined by the three Ps - Personal, Pervasive and Permanent. I’ve learned not to take setbacks personally, not to let them affect my entire self-concept, and not to assume they will last forever. Great book, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/19 "2011-11-07T15:05:44Z")
Cynical optimist. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124/20 "2011-11-07T15:12:04Z")
Hmmm…I put myself as an optimist, but that’s not to say that I think things will always go positively for me, which is what people seem to be saying here. I believe that I have the skills to cope with whatever life throws at me, and I believe that whilst bad things happen to good people, people are usually able to survive and make the best out of bad situations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist/602124.md?page=2)