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I'm really curious about this as there are sooo many people here *.* and everyone has different opinions.
I prefer optimism and try to be so as I would rather spend my time smiling and being cheery towards others and hopeful of something good coming my way instead of sitting on a couch sulking and worried about my life getting worse. :D
So which stance do you prefer and why?
I am neither. I would say I'm a philosipher, I look at it in either way, depending on which one is right. The problem is, lots of things can be viewed from both ways (And I don't mean by making up "At least the ____ is _____" type things) So I usually look at it pessimistically.
I agree partly but if you mostly focus on the bad and negative things, then you tend to miss the good. Now I don't know about you, but I would rather have something to smile about rather than something to cry about. :# Ooooh ^^ I'm a poet and I don't know it haha :3
"A pessimist is what an optimist calls a realist."
I prefer optimism, I think generally it just carries people further. But that whole glass full glass empty thing? I always say glass empty goddammit.
It's much easier to be optimistic when addressing situations realistically and with attachment to no particular outcome. It's much more difficult to be pessimistic when one stops comparing things that are not meant to be compared, such as people.
I am very much an optimist, and I would like to think I am a realist as well. There is a lot of reason for hope, even when things are going badly. I see a lot of bad things going on in the world, but I believe things will turn out well. One reason is because of advancing technology, which I think will help solve a lot of problems we are having.
To me, being an optimist is all about seeing everything: good and bad. Yes, there is pain, sadness and there are those who are mean, but why hide or shield ourselves from those things when there are also happiness, beauty and fun stuff too?
It's silly and a waste of time feeling as though life is against you and that only bad things are coming to you. You only feel that way because you are only focussing on the bad. If you look long and hard enough you'll find something to smile about in a bad situation.
My motto is: no matter how dark and cloudy the sky, there is always a clear patch of blue.
Negative emotions have an uncanny way of snowballing. Sometimes I wonder why it's so rare to see positive emotions snowball in the same way.
I often hear people say things like, "could today get any worse?" and "it's been one bad thing after another today", or "it's all been downhill since ___ happened" etc...but very rarely do I hear anyone say, "man, I don't think this day could get any better!" or "if one more good thing happens, I just might explode!"
If something gets me down, pessimism is only going to drag me down even further. If I spend more time noticing bad/expecting bad to happen, or if I allow negativity to influence my thoughts or actions...it becomes really easy to miss out on the positive impact that even small moments of happiness can bring.
So, if there's even a chance of something else bad happening--which of course, there always is--optimism is, in my opinion, the only way to go. [Unless I want to linger in the bad and negative, and allow it to snowball indefinately...which doesn't sound fun at all.]
Applying a positive attitude to negative situations just makes the most sense to me. It helps me to think more clearly, and counteracts the negativity I often find elsewhere.
Just as an example, if for some reason a friend is feeling particularly pessimistic, my first instinct is to try to give them some sort of positive to hold onto...a rope ladder, if you will, that leads up and out of the negative attitude they seem stuck in [the one that appears to be making them unhappy]. To me it would seem illogical to meet their negativity with more of the same.
And when I remember to treat myself as I would treat the friend in that scenario, I know I'm really in the swing of things.
: }
Really touching post Acata.
I like to use the Chan Buddhist method of finding happiness in small things: like the cool breeze on a hot summer day, the sunrise and the simple smell of fresh air. It's easy and amazing how simple things like those can really lift your spirits :)
Optimism.
From the way I think (and this is nothing new :P), your perception of the world IS your world. That doesn't mean lie to yourself and ignore the bad. It just means be hopeful and positive. :)
That way, you can also enjoy life when the time calls for enjoyment and having fun. And when its time to work, improve, aid or help, or get involved in something not so positive, your attitude will carry you through and inspire those around you as well. :D
I agree with you niteLite. A positive and cheery attitude really does help during dismal situations and it can even rub off on those around and help them stay cheery too ^^
Pragmatist. Ta da!
What's a pragmatist? @.@
hmm. I don't know which I prefer, but I'm definately a pessimist, even though people I meet tend to think I'm an optimist :/
That's kind of ironic...hehe ^^
Furthermore your avatar suggests you're an optimist too by the character's smiley, care-free nature.
hehe :)
Oh, oooowww....
...what you've wrote in your signature ItsMEE...that kind of thing hurts my head @.@ :3
I'm an Optimist... with pessimistic undertones. My motto is: "Hope for the best but plan for the worst."
Even if I'm sad or angry about something, I'll still wear a genuine smile around others. "Act happy and eventually you'll feel happy." lol I also figure that just because I'm in a slump, doesn't mean I should bring others down with me.
That quote makes no sense. Pessimists usually call themselves "realists" as an excuse for their boo-hooing, but optimists see past that because they understand that there's good with the bad, it's not all bad, and they are the ones who succeed. I always aim to be an optimist. It can be hard with anxiety and anger, but I have plenty to be happy and inspired about.Quote:
Originally Posted by Photolysis
I think there is immense value in both, I prefer a balance.
That's implying being optimist and being realist are mutually exclusive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Photolysis
I try to see things realistically. If something genuinely upsets me, I let myself realize it. I would never force myself to focus on the positive or the negative. if I feel a certain way toward something, I feel it. If I chose to focus only on the positive or negative, it would be a bit like I was brainwashing myself, preventing myself from seeing things honestly, which I wouldn't want to do. I personally tend to focus on the negative, especially lately as there's a lot of crap in my life right now, but I would not try to force myself to think any other way than my mind naturally wants to. It feels dishonest.
My mind is kind of dividing optimism or just happiness into two types. First, there is optimism based on ignorance. A person who exercises this is likely to tell others to be happy and smile, without actually realizing that there might be something very wrong and that they can't handle the situation like that. I find this type quite annoying. Second, there's optimism that comes through understanding. This is a lot rarer and better, and if I were to force myself to be happy I don't think I'd ever experience it. I experience it sometmes, in the midsts of depression, I'll see the stars and moon or something and feel there is hope, think about life and how we are here, etc. That positivity that comes through understanding is honest and I have no problem with that type.
Hmm...it definitely seems something is depressing you Dianeva :_(
Heh. My life was...is like that. As of now, I have no job, I claim benefits, I live with my parents and my social life is non-existent. I have a good number of reasons for crying and feeling down. But there is some good, I'll be going into college soon and once there, I'm gonna join clubs, work out (I'm a bit flabby from eating sweets XD ) and make friends. But until then, I just have to wait. Oh well... haha!
See? It's as Confucius says: "Bad news is always followed by good news".
Why don't you work out now?
Oh yeah, optimism.
Heh-heh. I try but the temptation of honey-comb ice cream is just far greater :9---
My college has a pool which can be used by student during lunch time, so when I enroll it'll just be easier to do it then ^^
I'm not a fan of rose colored glasses. And in spite of my username, I'm also not a fan of dark shades. They both distort. Dianeva stated it much more eloquently than I could.
Ultimately, optimist/pessimist is just another false dichotomy. Dualities are traps for the foolish but the wise reject the whole notion of duality and strive to encompass wholeness instead.
Where can I get this 'honey-comb ice cream'?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mireille
Ice cream is basically the unhealthiest food on the planet. :(
Dianeva, that was perfect. :crying:
The best experiences of my life have happened this way.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dianeva
Who would actually "prefer" pessimism over optimism?
Who would rather feel like everything in life is shit rather than feel like everything in life is golden?
I don't prefer pessimism over optimism. I would rather think the sun shines out of my ass. But I don't.
By nature, upbringing, genetics, unconscious choice, whatever-it-may-be, I am generally a pessimist.
Most of the time I'd call myself a realist more than anything, but that'd just be my tendency to think what's real is what is crap.
Yep.
Hey Dianeva if you guys have "Morrisons" supermarkets in Canada you can buy them there in the freezer depts. It is very yummy :9--- but I have to agree that it is unhealthy :_( I could eat an entire tub to myself ^^ but I'm already pretty doughy as it is - any more and I'll be spherical XD
The ice cream is honey comb flavored not actually honey comb shaped... that would've been pretty interesting to see :3
Pragmatism.
Chaotic bipolar shuffling. The world is what it is so I tend to have a pessimistic view about it. But since I think it is better to make people smile than frown I try to balance the scales with more optimistic approach. Which leads directly into my original answer.
Oooooooh an ouroboros *.*
Nice attitude though Unelias =D Smiles all around ^^
This is why I am focusing on mediation so much recently. It helps to see that the mind is really an illusion and that there's just a bunch of mental factors. They're like plants and are nothing personal. They're not "you". So things like stress, anger, and other unhealthy "negative" emotions are just weeds in the headspace. Pulling them out doesn't make "you" less "you".Quote:
Originally Posted by Dianeva
On the whole, I think that a fine appreciation of the existence of suffering (both that of your own and others) is paramount to understanding the world. Shakyamuni singled out illness, old age, and death as the three divine messengers that tell us to live. I met somebody with cancer yesterday and was very grateful for the opportunity.
To say that "everything is good" is delusion. I often see it associated with the "law of attraction".
"it is what it is" is the way of the sages. And that's ok.
I would say that i am a pessimistic optimist ;)
I say optimistic things but with a pessimistic, sarcastic attitude. Some people call me a douche and others call me a great guy... you decide :D
Hey! That's my line. I've used it somewhere on DV before :P
Except I'm the opposite. I tend to think the worst or "realistically" but I project optimism so not to bring others down and to try to bring myself up.
Disregard my earlier post :D though I don't see it being in complete conflict :lol:
You can see it as that, too. A circle is also the highest form in calligraphy. Since painting a perfect circle in freehand with one motion is pretty much something no one can ever achieve, it has a lot of symbolism that can be reflected in life's other areas. Ouroboros is also a very good symbol, which I knew when I picked that picture.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mireille
PhilosopherStoned, I have pondered same kind of things you brought up for the past years. Most of the meditation forms focus in the goal of losing ego which I have always seen as those things you mentioned. Don't know if that is what people in the past meant, but that is how I have decryphed it. Losing all demands of ego ie. rage, anger, fear, need to prove things etc. When that "divine" mindstate is achieved, you really start to see the world like it is. With eyes unclouded by trivial things or factors. Like you said it, it is what it is. Nothing else. :)
That's how I see it, at least.
I suppose I am mostly an optimist and also a realist. I consider myself pretty good at knowing when things just arnt going to work out and I accept it and move on.
Case in point...two weeks ago I was suppose to get married. But, due to my mom doing something she shouldnt have to my fiancee's mom and then her mom retaliating in a way which was also not in good form, our wedding got canceled 5 days before it was suppose to happen. And now my fiancee is back in taiwan considering if she even wants to be with me even though I was the only one who actually tried to rectify the situation.
Yes, it is sad and depressing to have to cancel a wedding so close to the date. Embarrassing even...but the weird thing is, without any self delusions, the thought just came to my mind that maybe she really isnt the one for me and I should be looking at this as an opportunity to find someone who meshes with my personality better. Her reactions to things has revealed some qualities about her that I really dont like that I wouldnt have found out about until later in marriage.
So yes, optimist and realist would be the main things...with a heavy "it is what it is" for things that I dont see good in.
That sounds pretty pessimistic and non-pragmatic.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xei
ICE CREAM!!!! ;9----
Ice-creamice-creamice-cream!!!! =D
:# I have no idea why I said all that ^_^
The Goose by Wei Wu Wei:Quote:
Originally Posted by Unelias
Seeing the truth in that is easier said than done.Quote:
Destroy the ego? Hound it, beat it, snub it, tell it where it gets off?
Great fun, no doubt. But, where is it? Must you not find it first?
Isn't there a word about catching your goose before you cook it?
The great difficulty here is that there isn't one.
That's why I said that it is pretty much decryphing ;) especially if you follow zen meditation traditions. So many cryptic word plays and symbolism.
Oh well, I quess it comes to me in 30-40 years. Or then not.
Pessimism, optimism tends to discourage and dissapoint me.
Optimism. Because ever since I was seven years old I was told the world is gonna end and Im gonna die some horrible holocaust type death. Well I'm still around but the doomsday stories haven't changed and quite frankly I got tired of them.
And again, ever since I was a child I've learned about pollution. And I remember being told that when I grow up there won't be any forests left. Well pollution is still real and destroying habitats, but no ones really doing anything. I've since learned that when you present people with horrifying statistics, such as X number of people die each year from starvation or an X number of species go extinct - their reaction tends to be there is nothing they can do about these overwhelming horrors except continue living life ignorantly and wait for the world to fall apart, so we sit around and fantasize about doomsday to release us from our insanity.
I'm tired of that too.
Its only the pessimists who think that optimism is automatically about some end result. That optimism says good things will turn out. So people except something good, and when things dont go their way they become miserable and blame optimism. Optimism was never about an end result. Talk to REAL optimists.
The world outside the optimists doesn't define the optimists happiness. What the optimist believes in is an inner good and an inner happiness, that no outer event in the world can take away. And its because that no outer event in the world can take away this inner happiness and this inner good, can the optimist bring that happiness and good to any event in their life.
Its also incorrect to say that optimists are ignorant of the horrors of the world.
Lets look at it this way: Who is more likely to run a non-profit organization to end world hunger? Who is more likely to go into a poor nation and feed the starving by hand? Someone who doesn't think it'll make any difference, or someone who does?
Ignore the meany heads and look at the good in life. I am...trying to be an optimist. I was a pessimist for the last 16 years, AKA my whole life. I got tired of being unhappy so I decided to set off on a journy optimisim. I keep trying to see the good in things even if some fat kid threatens to sit on me the next time i look at him wrong. ^_^
Optimism, because you always get what you expect.
I prefer optimism, but I guess I'm pessimism. I miss the time I was positive.
If you jump from a building and expect to live you're still going to die.Quote:
Originally Posted by dasmiez
I'm more of a pessimist than an optimist. It keeps me out of crappy situations and drama, and makes me think twice about lots of things that would otherwise be very stupid. I'm not the sit-here-and-sulk type, though. I just question everything with squinted eyes before making a conclusion.
Realizm yo
A pessimist
Optimism because it just feels better
...And then there the other thousand situations where optimism can change the outcome for the better, contrasting with the number of times pessimism offers any benefit - zero.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dianeva
I am a bit of both. I like to be an optimist when the future is uncertain. There's nothing worse than fretting over something going completely wrong for a year and then when the big event comes, everything is just fine. If you're optimistic, you save yourself so much heartache.
I don't know how pessimism would be good... in any way. Some people say it's "realistic" but if you don't aim high, you won't get anywhere. If you focus on only what reality TELLS you you can accomplish, you will not accomplish much.
Optimism, sure, causes heartache when you fail on your aspirations. But pessimism prevents you from having such aspirations in the first place, doesn't it?
I see the glass half empty if its drank, and the glass is half full if it's filled. I guess this means I'm caught in between.
Who cares if the glass is half empty or half full. Just drink it, for Christ's sake. - a quote from a classmate of mine a few years ago
I guess, if I must be labelled, I'd be walking through life with a 'Hello, I'm a pessimist' sticker on my shirt. This does not mean that I view life as shitty or that I am miserable all the time. This only means that I refuse to subscribe to the belief that we all will live happily ever after. If I'm not expecting rainbows and sunshine all the time then I won't be disappointed if they are absent. On the other hand, if rainbows and sunshine happen I'm all the more grateful to have had the opportunity to experience them.