Are you a glass half full or a glass half empty?
Me? I think I’m a pessimist. Eeyore is my favorite Winnie the Pooh character.
I’m a pessimistic optimist: I think things will be OK, despite my pessimism. And that depressed me.
Oh, and I just have to share this excerpt from the Devil’s Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce:
This brings to mind an old Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson.
Four Personality Types
“The glass is half empty.”
“The glass is half full!”
“What was the question?”
“Hey! I ordered a cheeseburger!”
Oh yea.
As for myself, I’m pessimistic. Not in a depressing way, though.
It’s just that I find that if I always go into a situation prepared for the -worst-, I’m usually satisfied when it doesn’t turn out to be quite so bad. And if it -is- that bad, then at least I was ready for it.
Ya know?
I’m an optimist by attitude, but a pessimist by policy (and you thought the name “Balance” was just for looks!)
IMHO, there are few things in the world more dangerous than an optimistic engineer.
I’m a hardcore cynic, and that leads me to be pessimistic.
My motto has always been, “If you expect the worst and it happens, you’re ready for it. If the best (or something in the middle) happens, it’s a pleasant surprise.”
Optimists and morning people scare me.
I’m a cynically pragmatic idealist.
Figure that one out.
And yes, I’ve thought about this before, and that’s the standard categorical description I’ve come up with for myself.
I take it to mean you’re an untrusting, overly analytical, opinionated bastard.
Pessimistic, glass is half empty, ‘it’s all going to hell in handbasket’ type here.
I surprise myself.
I’m a realist, but I can be positive and hopeful.
I don’t want to go in expecting the worst, but I do sometimes fear that things may easily go pear-shaped. But if you go in hoping for joy and happiness and eternal pleasure, it ain’t gonna happen, and that might depress me.
So I’m a realist. Stuff happens. Be prepared for it.
I’m an optimistic morning person.
boo!
Pessimist, with unexpected bursts of optimism. For the most part, when I plan or really look forward to something, it usually ends up a disaster or disappointing. If I really balk at doing something and plan on hating it, I usually end up enjoying myself. So I now plan on having a lousy time, and end up having a great time.
So, am I an optipest?
I’m a realistic optimist. That means I don’t delude myself to the truth but I ultimately look for the best in people and situations. A bad attitude can often be the cause of a bad result. Instead, I carry a cheerful and hopeful attitude and am rarely disappointed. The world is neither good nor evil. It mainly depends on our point of view and I’ll take a positive attitude anyday.
I’d have sex with either an optimist or a pessimist.
Ooopps! Not that kind thread is it?
Can I have a smaller glass?
Optimist. No one who listens to Cowboy Mouth can POSSIBLY remain a pessimist.
Here’s an in-concert quote from the singer:
It’s great to be alive. Really, it is.
But that doesn’t mean an optimist is a fool. If you want to live in the best world you better work for it.
That said, I do budget pessimistically. It’s the only responsible thing to do.
If I didn’t have reason to be afraid of you before, FairyChatMom, I do now 
JC’s post reminds me of a tribute on a Type O Negative album that follows the same theme, but goes in an entirely different direction.
Forces me to wonder, do naturally optimistic or pessimistic people gravitate to music or artists that mimic their points of view, or does the music/artist influence the person? I personally listen to upbeat as well as downbeat music, but I only seem to relate to the depressing side. Is that just me?
I admit, I’ve always been draw to more positive music. Rush, Cowboy Mouth and others really focus on what CAN happen that’s good. They believe in action.
Heck, Cowboy Mouth released an album a year ago called ‘Easy’. And the song ‘Easy’ was also the lead single. It has this chorus:
The singer, Fred LeBlanc, says he wrote that song after having an opening band who’s songs we’re all gloom and doom and depression. He heard a 45 minute set that was nothing but complaining. But he never heard anything about doing anything about it.
And that’s the difference. You gotta be able to get up and move to make those changes!
Boy, I’ve been quoting Cowboy Mouth all the damn time on the boards lately. I saw them again 3 weeks ago and that always gets to me.
I usually see the glass as buoyant and full, and then gleefully suck it all on down. After awhile, I see that it has become empty, and, hoo boy, do I gotta pee. So I pee in the glass, and it’s again full, but in a less appealing way.
Dump it on the ground, and go look for another fount. There’s always another, of course, but after awhile, it gets a bit tedious.
So, now, sometimes the glass is half full, othertimes drained down to empty.
Always, with gleeful anticipation, looking for rain.
“Where’s the other half of this glass! Who drank it?”
Cynical, Idealistic Pessimist with Optimistic Tendencies here. “Yeah, life sucks. Yeah, you’ve screwed up. But you are past that part, and now you can either fix it or keep whining about it.”
I said that to someone once. They didn’t talk to me much after that.