It’s said there are two kinds of people in this world. The optimist sees his glass as half full; the pessimist, as half empty. The optimist sees the rainbow, the pessimist, the rain.
Presumably the optimist is always cheerful, sees the best in people, and is hopeful for the future. If there are several possible outcomes for a situation, the optimist looks to the brightest one, confident that his or her good attitude will help it come to pass. There is even a book, The Law of Attraction, which purports that if one believes something positive will happen, that belief will attract the outcome one desires.
Pity the poor pessimist. Extrapolating from the above, a pessimist then must be a grumpy, gloomy person, always looking to find fault with others. Where the optimist sees a silver lining, the pessimist focuses on the cloud. Surely misfortune must follow him everywhere because he is expecting the negative at every turn, and it will find him. True?
Not.
I confess, I am a pessimist. And I am a very happy person. How can that be? Well, where an optimist is always looking at the bright side, I am always thinking, What’s the worst that could happen? If I follow a certain path, what’s the most dire consequence that could befall me? Could I live with that? If the answer is yes, I will usually go ahead and take the path. If the worst happens, well, I knew what I was in for and I accepted it. And if the worst doesn’t happen? Well, then, I’m happy.
