Are you an optimist or pessimist? - Page 8

Justice4all · ‎12-22-2013

@Stormygirl wrote:
Realist......used to be an optimist but events have a way of making me see things for what they really are.....

But Stormy, you have worth spilling over - overflowing the brim. There's more in you than in 10 people. Whatever you lose, you have so much more to give! XXOO, Justice

Justice4all · ‎12-22-2013

@chickenbutt wrote:
I'm a realist. I guess that tends toward what some, in extreme terms, might consider pessimistic.

But, hey, at least I'm seldom disappointed. Things either turn out how I expect or better. The optimists I have known over the years tend to have unrealistic views and are often disappointed.

I'm an optimist without false expectations, so I'm never disappointed....annoyed maybe....or stymied like a rat in a maze...so I find another route!

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

I am very optimistic about overcoming my pessimistic ways someday. I'm not sure I'll get there, but there's always hope!

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

Pages earlier, I had said I was a realist. I don't see a realist as a pessimist.

I see it as judging things, sizing them up by what is known and what the odds are. Not hoping things turn out well or assuming doom, but looking at what the evidence is and going on that.

What's important imo is looking at what we can control and what we can't, that makes a huge difference. If we get sick, instead of worrying about the outcome, the first thing I do is go over it and see what I can do to make it better. Pretty much the same pattern for most issues in life.

chickenbutt · ‎03-09-2010

Hey Noel! I hope you are having a good day today.

I never saw being a realist as being pessimistic either. That pretty much comes from labels others have given me because I don't share their brand of mega-optimism. Optimism is probably a pretty good thing but some optimists are just so far beyond reality that they see anything less as being pessimistic.

Anyway, that's been my experience.

Lesa · ‎03-09-2010

op·ti·mist

ˈäptəməst/

noun

noun: optimist; plural noun: optimists

1.
a person who tends to be hopeful and confident about the future or the success of something.
"only an eternal optimist could expect success"
2.
Philosophy
a person who believes that this world is the best of all possible worlds or that good must ultimately prevail over evil.

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

@chickenbutt wrote:
Hey Noel! I hope you are having a good day today.

I never saw being a realist as being pessimistic either. That pretty much comes from labels others have given me because I don't share their brand of mega-optimism. Optimism is probably a pretty good thing but some optimists are just so far beyond reality that they see anything less as being pessimistic.

Anyway, that's been my experience.

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Hi @chickenbutt

I read all of your posts that I see on the board, and I wouldn't call you a pessimist, I'd say you really are a realist.

I see you sizing things up all the time, going over things.

Even realists see bad things coming, but it's not because that's the way we see most things in life, it's because we see it as it is.

I can also see good coming sometimes, but I don't hold out false hope if the outcome is obviously unknown.

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

This is a very interesting thread, I like reading how others see it, and imo there is no right or wrong answer.

I see an optimist as someone slanted to viewing most things in life as positive or hopeful, and a pessimist as usually anticipating a negative outcome.

chickenbutt · ‎03-09-2010

Noel7 wrote:
chickenbutt wrote:
Hey Noel! I hope you are having a good day today.

I never saw being a realist as being pessimistic either. That pretty much comes from labels others have given me because I don't share their brand of mega-optimism. Optimism is probably a pretty good thing but some optimists are just so far beyond reality that they see anything less as being pessimistic.

Anyway, that's been my experience.
*******************************

Hi @chickenbutt

I read all of your posts that I see on the board, and I wouldn't call you a pessimist, I'd say you really are a realist.

I see you sizing things up all the time, going over things.

Even realists see bad things coming, but it's not because that's the way we see most things in life, it's because we see it as it is.

I can also see good coming sometimes, but I don't hold out false hope if the outcome is obviously unknown.

You described that very well! I've always been a thinker. I have an analytical mind. I figure things out, based on facts (imagine that) and proceed accordingly.

I'm not an emotional thinker like my husband. He's a very good person but, oy - can he come up with some abstract thinking based on his emotions, which causes him to make some bad decisions. Fortunately, he has come to ask me what I think about something, so as to interject some reality-based thinking into it.

But, hey, we all have our own ways and probably all have reasons for them. I was a survivor from a very young age and you can't survive if you aren't taking a realistic look around you and calculating how to best survive. It's kind of like how animals are instinctual. I like that. They are smart that way where, as humans, we sometimes can be weak in our thinking.

Free2be · ‎03-10-2010

I'm a realist about accepting what is and an optimist about the nature of people. No matter the situation or condition, I believe that most people are in some process of being their best selves. Some have a harder row to hoe.