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Which one Are you: Pessimist, Optimst, or Realist?

Which one Are you?

  • Optimist

    Votes: 2 12.5%

  • Pessimist

    Votes: 5 31.3%

  • Realist

    Votes: 9 56.3%
  • Total voters
    16
SimplyWandering

SimplyWandering

Well-Known Member
As the question goes...

I Grew up in a real negative family, even now at 30, I still deal with a mother who is extremely negative.

I have found myself in the same path unsure of how to change that so I quietly call myself a Pessimist disguised as a Realist. I constantly complain about things and wonder if that is autism or just an excuse Lols. I'M LIKE the Grouch/Grinch.
 
You don't have pessimism disguised as realism mixed with optimism defined by a stark outlook on life, based on world reality that is confined and aided by a higher purpose or design as an option!:)
 
I went with "pessimist" as best-fit because I'm a defensive pessimist. I assume things are going to cock up, so I take measures to ensure they don't. There's a bit of realism in there, but since I have no solid evidence either way as to whether or not things will go well or go poorly, it's still pessimism.

The whole thing is kind of predicated upon assuming things will go wrong and being pleasantly surprised when/if they don't.
 
I am going to go with realist. I am very aware of what is going on around me and have been like that for many years. I see things as they really are. However, I do have a upbeat attitude about my life in general. So maybe I am really a optimist. I just can not make up my mind about this. This is really bad. Now I seem to be a pessimist.
 
Gritches said:
I went with "pessimist" as best-fit because I'm a defensive pessimist. I assume things are going to cock up, so I take measures to ensure they don't. There's a bit of realism in there, but since I have no solid evidence either way as to whether or not things will go well or go poorly, it's still pessimism.

The whole thing is kind of predicated upon assuming things will go wrong and being pleasantly surprised when/if they don't.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but I'm thinking that it makes you a "risk-averse" realist, not necessarily a pessimist.
Bet we'd make one heck of a good poker game... :cool:
 
I went with optimist, but this is mostly because other people call me optimistic. Tbh I don’t see myself as an optimist but it seems everyone else does.
Now that I am actually thinking more in depth, I notice that my actions are very much optimistic. I tend to encourage others to think better of themselves. This seems really strange because in my head I don’t think well of myself at all.
Another aspect of it might be that I prepare for things to go poorly and have no expectations so whatever the outcome I am pleasantly surprised or I was prepared for it. This makes things tend to come out well from my perspective. I don’t really know how to classify this, but optimistic seems to fit.
 
Realist, though probably a mixture between pessimist and realist depending on the circumstance. Not an optimist, Murphy's Law applies to me - if something can go wrong, it will. I often get accused of being a pessimist or a cynic when I'm just being realistic.
 
I am pretty much exactly like Gritches on this one. expecting bad things to happen, but trying to predict those things realistically, and being pleasantly surprised when everything is good.

I think a lot of my pessimism comes from feeling unsure of myself and having low confidence in making the right choices/having the most appropriate expectations. I often believe I should know the result of X or Y better than I actually do, so I try to prepare for all conceivable outcomes which really takes a big tole on me. And when none of those outcomes happens, or when it goes in a direction I didn't prepare for, then I really start second-guessing everything and get myself overloaded.

The only times I am optimistic is when I'm focusing on a special interest or something else that I know inside and out, and can predict, with at least some certainty, what will happen before I do something. Sometimes I make these huge grand plans, and quite possibly attempt to lay everything out hypothetically before I even start implementing them in the real world, which sometimes has proven invaluable, but more often it feels like it's wasting my time because I keep having to come back to the drawing board.
 
I've often experienced this with people saying I am a pessimist.
I always say, no, I'm just being realistic.
Go with the Boyscout motto: Be prepared.
And life IS like that box of chocolates.
I tend to go with Murphy's law also. It just seems if I took an average of outcomes in my life the scales
would tip more towards the if anything can go wrong it will.

My houseshare partner has a saying he tells people that is like Murphy's Law:
"One day as I sat sad and gloomy, a little bird came to me and said Cheer Up things could be worse."
" I cheered up and sure enough things got worse."
Now that's a pessimist.
 
I'm actually quite proud of being a pessimist. I give Eeyore a run for his money. Deep down, I'm always afraid of what will go wrong or being too happy, because when people are really happy and enjoying life *BAM!!* they get a deadly disease, or one of their loved ones die, or they lose their job, or their house burns to the ground. Sometimes those things happen all at once. So I cannot be any more than 75% satisfied with my life no matter what. I know that sounds crazy and stupid, but that's how I feel, and it's easy not to get up to that percentage, anyway.
 
I'd like to think I'm a realist, but I went with pessimist too. I was pretty brutally bullied in school. Even though I'm 43 you never really get over years of mental & emotional abuse. I struggle with depression & self esteem issues frequently. Like I am doing today. I really wish I could break this cycle, but it is very hard & I have doubts whether I ever can (there's the pessimism!). Even when it comes to positive aspects of my life, I can't help but recast in a negative way. It's hard.
 
I would say I am all 3, I am very much a realist first, and try to add optimism in a realist way. However, I can be a pessimist at times or where reality warrants.
 
I'm the Fly that doesn't want to get swatted.

Not sure what that means exactly, but it is what came to mind when considering my approach to life. :D
 
I'm optimistic with regards to things I can accomplish. I'm pessimistic with regards to what the world can accomplish.
 
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