Optimism and Pessimism...

[bigmrpig]

Now, for the sake of this discussion, I'm talking about modest optimists and modest pessimists, not extreme "everything is amazing! Life is amazing! Let's all run around and be happy!" optimism and not extreme "we're just going to die, what's the point in doing anything" pessimism.

I'm talking, "My team's really good, there's no way they can lose this game" and "My team never wins. They won't win this one."

So which is better? I find that optimists are often often disappointed. It's hard to thoroughly celebrate a victory you knew would occur as thoroughly as if it's unexpected, and seemed almost a futile cause.

Assuming your optimism or pessimism doesn't change what actually occurs, optimists will either be content that what they expected did happen, or disappointed that it didn't. A pessimist (which I often am) is thrilled when something they were sure wouldn't happen does (like when I get an A on a Spanish writing test I was sure I bombed), and when they don't, they just accept that it happened. At least in my experience (still talking about modest optimism or pessimism).

But the situation changes when you don't talk about something that's going to happen, but viewing what happened in the past. An optimist that did a fundraiser that raised 500 of the 1000 dollars they wanted would be happy that they were able to get money for their cause, while a pessimist would be disappointed that they didn't fulfill their goal of 1000.

Obviously, universal optimism or universal pessimism both have negative consequences when viewed like this.

So is it really all that bad to be a pessimistic person? Is being optimistic just as disappointing? Does it all depend on the situation? Is just looking at the most realistic outcome the best way to live your life?


I'm interested in hearing some opinions on the matter

[Dilettante]

Thanks, DanMRaymond

Now we need the other participants to say whether they agree with your definitions or not. I do.

I think optimism is, in general, clearly preferable, though I agree with hannahjoy that striking a balance between the two (realism) can help us avoid false hopes, inflated expectations and the kind of unwarranted optimism which sometimes leads to reckless behavior.

[DanMRaymond]

I think you hit the nail on the head

[Xanadu Moo]

Taking my cue from Woody Allen, he might say that optimists tend to sleep better at night, while pessimists enjoy the waking hours more.

Some other philosophical concepts to consider:

The optimist says the glass is half full, the pessimist says it's half empty, the idealist says it actually is full, the fatalist says it's going to spill, the engineer says the glass was built out of scale, the atheist says there's no proof of its existence, and the realist just drinks the water and worries about the details later.

Optimism has connotations of wishful thinking, which often results in disappointment. Pessimism has connotations of suspicion, which is often a self-fulfilling prophecy.

There's a saying that a lot of people become pessimists from financing optimists.

I've always thought that an optimist is a realist in denial.

I think you can have a positive outlook without needing to be optimistic. Optimism doesn't look at the facts, but creates a fantasy world apart from reality. Being positive, on the other hand, can be firmly grounded in realism while still having a happy disposition.

Optimism is about forecasting (and optimists would make terrible meteorologists). Positivism is about attitude (and they'd make great game show hosts).

Therefore, I am a positive self-proclaimed hypocritcal Machiavellian realist under the guise of a misanthropic rapscallion sympathizer.

Here's one I've wondered about... Is it pessimistic or optimistic to say "Things couldn't be any worse than they are right now"?