The Optimist vs. the Pessimist

An optimist sees the best in the world, while a pessimist sees only the worst. An optimist finds the positive in the negative, and a pessimist can only find the negative in the positive.

Our outlook on life, whether you see opportunities at every turn or if you expect an obstacle that will derail you waiting around every corner, shapes who you are and what you can become. You are an optimist if your general outlook on life is that everything will turn out fine. Optimists can see opportunity in setbacks. A pessimist feels the opposite and expects the worst-case scenario. Pessimists are more likely to believe that failure was inevitable.

Optimists believe that the world is a positive place, that setbacks are temporary, that problems are challenges to overcome, and that each individual plays an active part in what happens in his/her life. Optimistic people have fewer infectious diseases, stronger immune systems, overall

better health habits, and live longer.

Pessimists believe that things are generally bad and that they can become even worse. They feel that when bad things happen it’s permanent and that it will always persist and affect their life.

The core of a pessimist’s attitude is helplessness and that nothing they do will make a difference, so why even try.

Analogy: An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.  ~Bill Vaughan

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