1/10/2024 0 Comments In between optimism and pessimism![]() ![]() As we mentioned in the example given above, a pessimist is more likely to refer to a glass half filled with water as ‘half empty’―the negative side―instead of referring to it to as ‘half full’―the positive side. In simple words, pessimists are inclined towards highlighting the negativity in their life, while ignoring any positive signs they come across. These people feel that they are responsible for all the negative things happening to them. If I have to dot the scale of the thought spectrum, the person should be more realistic than an optimist.The term pessimism, derived from the Latin word for worst, pessimus, is defined as a state of mind, wherein a person’s perception of life is predominantly marked by ‘negativity’. Besides, being pragmatic, the person is neither to be foolishly optimistic or abysmally pessimistic. To conclude, in my opinion, a person should have certain degree of pragmatism. When we say, pessimistic is a negative attribute then Realism & Optimism – Do you need both? Optimism usually is viewed is a desirable attribute, but many believe it is really helpful if it is realistic. The realist gets on with life, accepts that there are no larger-than-life humans. Where does one look for parental figures? The pessimist accepts all this, and believes it doesn’t get any better. The optimist questions, and considers humans worthy of better. No surprise the heroes from the movies have become so popular. People also seem to have blind trust in banks, insurance companies, computers, politicians. Price rise, inflation, politicians bickering and putting their needs light years ahead of the citizens they are supposed to represent, and “experts” on the news are telling us the obvious. Thus, in the case of the above example, a realist just gets on with life, and drinks the water, understanding that to be in the moment is often the smartest thing to do in a world that is so uncertain, and beyond the control of any individual. Realistic optimists are cautiously hopeful of favorable outcomes, but they do much they can to obtain the desired results. ![]() Optimism and pessimism operate on a continuum, of which the midpoint of the thought spectrum is realism. ![]() Pessimism is a negative mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation and is the attitude that things will go wrong and people’s wishes are unlikely to be fulfilled. Thus, optimism is an attribute reflecting belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable or desirable. I’ll come back to this example later in this article. On the other hand, the optimist sees a glass containing 50 per cent water and expects more. The glass is half empty because the optimist expects more. The optimist expects much from life, as the optimist knows how beautiful and wonderful life can be. The pessimist believes themselves worthy of no more. The glass is half full, because half a glass of water is as good as it gets. A pessimist sees a glass containing 50 per cent water and believes that that is all there is. A pessimist is a person who considers the glass half full an optimist considers the glass half empty. So what is optimism and pessimism anyway? The hackneyed axiom of the difference between optimist and pessimism – A glass contains 50 per cent water. Responding to the crisis or a situation decides about the actions or no-actions. While both the attributes are placed poles apart on the thought spectrum but both are, invariably, involved when faced with a situation or crisis. When we talk about a viewpoint of looking at life or situations, two attributes of human nature which cannot be ignored Optimism & pessimism. It is an irrefutable law of nature that a person’s mindset or thought process has a lot of bearing on what he is and he will be? These attributes of human nature clearly demarcate between winners and the also-rans. ![]()
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