“Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours.” ~ Swedish Proverb
According to the Free Dictionary, these are the definitions of a pessimist and optimist.
Optimist or Pessimist, Which Route Are You On?
PESSIMIST: a person who expects the worst, someone who is resigned to defeat without offering positive suggestions.
The pessimist will spend his days, and in some cases his whole life, focusing on what is wrong, on what is broken, focusing on the glass half empty instead of the glass half full. For them life is hard, and they expect horrible things to happen to them and all around them, and the funny thing is that they receive just that, for beliefs become self-fulfilling and what you focus on will become reality sooner or later. What’s interesting here is that these people will argue over their beliefs about how life really is unfair and how they have all the proof to show you how right they are, and of course, they are right.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~ Winston Churchill
OPTIMIST: a person disposed to take a favorable view of things.
The optimist, on the other hand, chooses to look at the bright side of everything and turns obstacles into opportunities, mistakes into lessons and somehow finds a way to get the best out of everything. These people expect great things to happen to them and the great things do happen because you see, beliefs become self-fulfilling prophecies and in the end, you will receive from life what you expect to receive.
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” ~ Hellen Keller
Isn’t it funny? Life will give you whatever experiences you expect to receive from it and it has no need to prove you wrong or right, it’s only us humans who do this. Life is neither good nor bad, it just is, and it’s up to us to choose the kind of life we want to create.
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become a character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
So out of these two, which one will you choose? All you have to do is look at the two words and their definition and pick one, and from that point on you allow yourself to become one with it.
Right from the beginning, we were given a choice right? We all have a choice on how to look at things, how to perceive the world and the events that take place in our lives, how to think, how to behave. By knowing that we can control it all, and by knowing that our attitude, in the end, will determine our altitude, isn’t it smart to have a positive one? Isn’t it smart to be an optimist rather than a pessimist and to choose for ourselves the level of happiness and inner peace that will be present in our lives?
No matter what happens to us and no matter how hard life may seem sometimes, we always have a choice to shift our perceptions, to turn problems into opportunities for growth, mistakes into lessons, the bad into good, the ugly into beautiful. We have that much power and control over our lives and it’s up to us whether we choose this power for our own benefit or not.
How about you? Which route are you on? Share your insights by joining the conversation in the comment section below 🙂
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Luminita D. Saviuc
Luminita is the Founder and Editor in Chief of PurposeFairy.com and also the author of 15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy: An Inspiring Guide to Discovering Effortless Joy. For more details check out the 15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy Book Page.
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10 Comments
Astrid
at 6:30 am
I wish my mum was a little more optimistic. Its getting harder to live at home without being miserable as it really rubs off on me. I notice how pessistic she is now im really focusing on my optimism.
Ruby H Rose
at 5:35 am
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. ~ Hellen Keller
I love this quote. We move forward with joy and laughter, we fall behind, with gripes and fears.
Great read!
Tahlia Newland
at 2:02 am
I’m always an optimist. It even annoys my daughter, but particularly in my writing I want to share hope not gloom.
Alicia Alvarado
at 8:00 pm
So true, thank you for sharing this one!!
Mary
at 7:22 pm
That’s why I tend to stay away from the pessimistic ones. They always try to get you down especially when your mood is up. After all: misery loves company. 🙂
Steve
at 5:11 pm
Hmmm….can get this to PIN.
Pauline
at 2:18 pm
How you perceive the world really does make a difference. I can’t imagine living life as a pessimist; it would be so depressing to surround myself with so much negativity.
janet
at 1:34 pm
oops..i meant to say thanks, Purpose Fairy ! you know, i consider myself a hopeful-type person..but i think, somewhat of a worrier ! i look forward to these articles, because they keep me grounged , and remind me of the miracle of our being in the universe !! 🙂
janet
at 1:30 pm
thanks for your articles,
Valerie Jacobsen
at 4:12 pm
So true. Sometimes I can sense when my energy is being tugged in a negative direction. It always helps to take a deep breath and assess the cause. Often times there’s one or more pessimists in close proximity of my ‘day to day’ life and I have to remind myself to make a conscious effort to tune it out.