ARE YOU AN OPTIMIST OR PESSIMIST?

If you are self confident, you are an optimist.  Optimists surround themselves with positive people, face their fears and deal with them.  Pessimism is a mental attitude. Pessimists anticipate undesirable outcomes from a given situation which is generally referred to as situational pessimism or believes that undesirable things are going to happen to them in life more than desirable ones.

On the other hand, an Optimist is a person who tends to be hopeful and confident about the future or the success of something.

BASIC DIFFERENCES:

“There are three basic differences in the reactions of optimists and pessimists. The first difference is that the optimist sees a setback as temporary, while the pessimist sees it as permanent. The optimist sees an unfortunate event as temporary, something that is limited in time and that has no real impact on the future. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees negative events as permanent, as part of life and destiny.

“The second difference between the optimist and the pessimist is that the optimist sees difficulties as specific, while the pessimist sees them as pervasive. This means that when things go wrong for the optimist, he looks at the event as an isolated incident, totally disconnected from other things that are going on in his daily life.

“The third difference between optimists and pessimists is that optimists see events as external, while pessimists interpret events as personal. When things go wrong, the optimist will tend to see the setback as resulting from external factors over which one has little control.

“If the optimist is cut off in traffic, for example, instead of getting angry or upset, he will simply downgrade the importance of the event.  The pessimist on the other hand, has a tendency to take everything personally. If the pessimist is cut off in traffic, he will react as though the other driver has deliberately acted to upset and frustrate him, or the devil is at it again.

“The height of the fully mature, self-actualizing personality is the ability to be objective and unemotional when caught up in the inevitable storms of daily life. The superior person has the ability to continue talking to himself in a positive and optimistic way, keeping his mind calm, clear and completely under control. The mature personality is well coordinated, more relaxed, aware and capable of interpreting events more realistically and less emotionally than is the immature personality. As a result, the mature person exerts a far greater sense of control and influence over his environment, and is far less likely to be angry, upset, or distracted.

“Look on the inevitable daily setbacks that you face as being temporary, specific and external. View the negative situation as a single event that is not connected to other events and that is caused largely by external factors, which most at times you dont have control over it. Simply refuse to see the event as being in any way permanent, pervasive or indicative of personal incompetence of inability.  Resolve to think like an optimist, no matter what happens. You may not be able to control events but you can control the way you react to them.

TAKING CONTROL

You can change your perspective in these simple ways:

“First, remind yourself continually that setbacks are only temporary, they will soon be past and nothing is as serious as you think it is.

“Second, look upon each problem as a specific event, not connected to other events and not indicative of a pattern of any kind. Deal with it and get on with your life.

“Third, recognize that when things go wrong, they are usually caused by a variety of external factors. Say to yourself, ‘What can’t be cured must be endured,’ and then get back to thinking about your goals.”