Are you an optimist or pessimist?

RBeckom

I by my nature am an optimistic person and wonder just how many people here share my views toward life in general?
If I am right there will be three optimist for every pessimistic person who will post not that there will be an accurate figure presented here because most who lean towards pessimism will regard this thread as trivial and not worth their time to answer or will want to hide this fact about themselves which they have forgotten has already been presented through the writings of said individuals for a lengthy period of time.
So who is game enough to state the truth about themselves?
And yes this is one of my little social experiments, I admit it up front.

Rain

Pessimist.I'm working on it, though.

roland_7707

Optimistic. With God in my life, how can I not be.

Bob Luken

I'm not sure. I guess a little of both.

onestrangeone

I am pessimistic, I don't know if this is by nature or due to the life I have lived, it dosen't matter they were my choices. What does matter is that today I am aware of it and trying change my outlook on life and people in general, this is not an easy thing to do at my age. It really sucks when you realize that a lot of your core beliefs were wrong, oh well at least I get too start over.

variant2

I remember when I used to be optimistic.

Amos Umwhat

Hmm...I have a tendency to expect and prepare for the worst, while hoping for the best. Not sure where I fall out on this.

variant2

Amos Umwhat:

Hmm...I have a tendency to expect and prepare for the worst, while hoping for the best. Not sure where I fall out on this.

You're a pessimist... welcome to the club.

honorknight7

Amos Umwhat:

Hmm...I have a tendency to expect and prepare for the worst, while hoping for the best. Not sure where I fall out on this.

Right there with ya on this one. Pop always said...
kiddo-as long as you prepare for the worst you will never be disappointed if that is the outcome, but know that when most things turnout, that you can be pleasantly surprised, and on the times its not seeming to be good, wait a year and look back on how it really turned out before final judgment.

Puff_Dougie

Rain

"Oh crap....we lost some!"

Lee.mcglynn

Pessimist....either your happy or you already knew what the outcome would be

macs-smokes

Amos Umwhat:

Hmm...I have a tendency to expect and prepare for the worst, while hoping for the best. Not sure where I fall out on this.

+1

RBeckom

In two hours sixteen minutes as of this writing the count stands as follows:
76 reads:
12 replies, of these twelve, I believe only four. Possibly five.
Folks, honesty without comedy is sometimes warranted. This being one of those times.
I have read your post for years and already know where most of you stand from this perspective alone.
Be honest but most importantly, be sincere in your answer else my experiment is turned to rubbish.
I am not delving into your inner personalities here, I am looking for a generalized figure from a set control group.
Have fun with it but then please answer with honesty.
Thank you.

RBeckom

Puff_Dougie:

This one, I must admit is funny.
But is it honest?

Bobbo2009

I am a pessimist. I know that I am and I have been for a long time. Whenever I try to be optimistic in life I seem to always get bit&* slapped back to my reality. I worry about everything from my house (every little noise, are my pipes leaking, does my new furnace work, does my roof look like it is sagging and going to collapse, etc) to my job and friends. Hell, I even said "NO MORE! NOT THIS YEAR!" and of course my water heater goes crazy. Initial reaction was "NO NO NO. I can't afford a new one. Why me!!!". For some reason, after a little melt down, and a beer, I said FU$( IT. Whatever happens happens and I will just have to deal with it. And what do you know, it was just the heating elements that needed to be replaced, not the whole thing. Maybe this will the year I can finally kick this pessimist crap to the curb and save myself the ulcers.

Short Version: Pessimist.

Rob

kaspera79

.

New Boots

I'm a *throws dice* "Lets see if this works!*

Puff_Dougie

RBeckom:

Puff_Dougie:

This one, I must admit is funny.
But is it honest?

Yes... it is quite honest. I have always struggled against pessimism, tending to expect the worst. Somehow, though, it has seemed to motivate me to strive for the best, and things generally turn out better than I anticipated.

Vulchor

Love the question in this thread. I think most people who know me would call me a pessimist. I would say I lean toward it, but ever so slightly. What I think is that I am a realist, and often pessimism comes from being real-------or perhaps that is just the point of view at what a person is looking at? Thoughts?

Vulchor

I would asdk the same to Bobbo or to others to comment. While we both may be pessismists Bob....is that really pessimism you are referring to or is it the honest realization within yourself that things will go bad in some way in a lot of areas and you understand and accept it as inevitable?

blutattoo

Definitely more optimistic than pessimistic. Guess I'm just lucky like that.

Toombes

I suppose you could call me an optimist. I prefer the best possible outcome but accept the fact that life doesn't always give you what you want so I've learned to roll with the punches and make due with the cards that I'm dealt.

0patience

I'm an optimistic pessimist.
I believe that things will always work out, but that a lot of people can't be trusted.
So while I know that things will always work out, in the back of my mind, I know that there is some moron out there waiting to screw up a perfectly good day.

Jetmech_63

I'm a realist, but to put a label on it, pessimist. Pessimists aren't suprised, are usually ready for anything, tend not be naive and expecting the worst you can prepare for it and in those preparations the best usually happens. Being a pessimist keeps me honest and ready. That may not make sense but it works for me, strangely I'm a rather happy person.

Vulchor

This is me, or about what I was trying to say Jet, I think its a good way to be. I always feel the people who are overly optomistic do not have a real outlook on things and can be easily taken advantage of or swayed to feel one way or another based on whims and positivity instead of realizing "life is brutish and short"

Martel

I'm a cynical optimist. I used to think I was a pessimist; then I met my wife. I realize now that I'm generally optimistic, but I expect people to disappoint me in their motivations and actions so I expect the worst out of them. But I hope for the best. I want to see the best.

I hate that about myself and I'm working on it.

webmost

RBeckom:

I by my nature am an optimistic person and wonder just how many people here share my views toward life in general?
If I am right there will be three optimist for every pessimistic person who will post not that there will be an accurate figure presented here because most who lean towards pessimism will regard this thread as trivial and not worth their time to answer or will want to hide this fact about themselves which they have forgotten has already been presented through the writings of said individuals for a lengthy period of time.
So who is game enough to state the truth about themselves?
And yes this is one of my little social experiments, I admit it up front.

Realist.

What you would doubtless term a pessimist.

Ken Light

I'm sure I appear to be a pessimist. But, in reality, I'm an optimist who's been disappointed far too often and has learned to protect myself. Optimist.

Bobbo2009

Vulchor:

I would asdk the same to Bobbo or to others to comment. While we both may be pessismists Bob....is that really pessimism you are referring to or is it the honest realization within yourself that things will go bad in some way in a lot of areas and you understand and accept it as inevitable?

I would say honest realization that crap goes bad a lot of the time. I truly hope for the best, but knowing that it usually doesn't turn out that way I prepare myself for the worst.

Bob Luken

RBeckom:

In two hours sixteen minutes as of this writing the count stands as follows:
76 reads:
12 replies, of these twelve, I believe only four. Possibly five.
Folks, honesty without comedy is sometimes warranted. This being one of those times.
I have read your post for years and already know where most of you stand from this perspective alone.
Be honest but most importantly, be sincere in your answer else my experiment is turned to rubbish.
I am not delving into your inner personalities here, I am looking for a generalized figure from a set control group.
Have fun with it but then please answer with honesty.
Thank you.

I haven't been here a long time but can YOU tell wich way I lean? Am I an optimist or a pessimist? 60/40?