So, apparently, hardly anyone thinks that they’re roughly as optimistic/pessimistic as a typical person. Some of these polls have been getting goofy results, I tell you.
(I voted “none of the above,” meaning: ‘it’s not that simple’ – a protest vote, basically.)
I’m pessimistic, but I think I’m a positive-thinking pessimist. “Something will happen to screw this up, but that’s okay. We’ll enjoy it while we can.”
I voted very optimistic. Of course, it’s not ever that simple, as if I’m just always happy and on top of the world everyday. But I’ve always been a very laid back, go with the flow kinda guy, and that seems to feed my optimism. In my very pessimistic friend, I find he tries to inflict too much control on a lot of circumstances in his life, and the more you try to bend things to your will, the more disappointed you’ll become. It’s my belief that we are very much in control on how to initiate something, but have very little control near the end. Life is chaos, and that’s gonna rear its head at every opportunity. But in my very short (almost) 37 years on this planet, things seem to work themselves out in the end. Life is hard work, and I just so happen to like to work hard. I navigate life organically, and don’t try and force success or opportunity. But you know what, if you just grow to where the light is, you’ll find life easier and more fulfilling, than trying to punch holes when you’re in darkness. It’s a patience thing. The ability to see the big picture, see your place in it, wait for the outcome, while not letting the worries bury your enjoyment of the present, because it’s rarely ever as bad as it seems. Nothing is static, everything changes, and everything is temporary — good or bad.
So, everything’s gonna be just fine… and then you die.
I just can’t pick one of those options. I feel like I have a pretty positive outlook and I am in a good mood 90% of the time.
On the other hand I am very cynical and pragmatic, and people are always telling me I am negative. I am never shocked when terrible things happen.
My philosophy is ‘always expect the worst, then be pleasantly surprised when it doesn’t happen’. It’s possible to approach life this way while still being a happy person.
Some people think the glass is half empty. Some people think it’s half full. I think there’s probably a damn good reason someone didn’t finish that drink…
Half empty, half full. An engineer will tell you that the glass is twice as large as it needs to be.
What if there are four different answers to your four different questions?
I think **John DiFool **and I are the same person, just different sexes. Because I answered this poll before I saw how the replies went. < cue scary music >
I voted ‘very pessimistic’. I remain confident that I will have a long life though. That way, I can suffer more.
I voted ‘‘neutral’’ which to me means realism.
I’m more than a little neurotic, so sometimes tiny things can seem like the end of the world. On the other hand, about 80% of the time, I’m pretty damn optimistic.
There’s a cool psychology book called *Learned Optimism, *by Martin Seligman. Seligman essentially found that people who are optimistic tend to do better in life, are higher achievers in school and at work, live longer and are even more likely to win at sports. His work included some longitudinal studies indicating that there is a causal relationship between optimism and success.
His definition of optimism is very proscribed. It is defined by the three '‘p’'s:
Permanent
Pervasive
Personal
People who view their failures as permanent, affecting all areas of their lives, and a result of their personal failings tend to do very poorly, whereas people who view their failures as temporary, affecting only one area of life, and attributed to external factors, tend to do very well.
So when I’m feeling really down, I try to do a quick check on the Three Ps. It really helps put frustrations and setbacks into perspective.