Picture an 8 oz. glass containing 4 oz. of liquid. (My 4 oz. is red wine. Yours can be whatever you like - your choice.) Now, to an optimist, that glass is half full, to a pessimist, it's half empty. You know that. To an engineer the glass is twice as big as it needs to be but, as usual, I digress.
Pessimism gets a bad rap. I mean, nobody ever wrote a best-seller titled The Power of Negative Thinking. Maybe that's because optimism gets all the theme songs - "Keep On the Sunny Side," "Whistle a Happy Tune," "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." Lousy advice, I say.
Optimists expect everything to go right. They believe projects will come in on time and on budget. They expect decent weather when on vacation. They even believe contractors' estimates and airline schedules, poor dears. Naturally, they're almost always disappointed.
Whatever the circumstance or endeavor, rarely does everything go right. Optimism just sets you up to have your hopes dashed.
On the other hand, rarely does absolutely everything go wrong. If you expect the worst, even if 97% of your day tanks, the 3% that turns out OK will come as a pleasant surprise. Cultivating total gloom and doom leaves you the possibility of a better outcome than anticipated every single time. See how it works? Obviously, of the two, pessimism is the saner choice.
Of course, I don't expect any of you to share my opinion. In fact, if I get even one comment or email agreeing with me on this, I'll be pleasantly surprised.
About Me
- Jan C. Snow
- Since 1984, my light commentary, Marginal Considerations, has been a feature of Weekend Radio. Moving into the 21st century (yeah, I know - a decade late and more than a dollar short), it may be time to explore the format known as "the blog." (Still on the radio, BTW.) I am the author of A Natural History of Socks, illustrated by the late Eric May, You May Already Be a Winner (and other marginal considerations) and The Nonexistence of Rutabagas, plus maybe 1K features, essays, book and arts reviews in newspapers and magazines nearly everywhere, except perhaps Kansas. I live on Lake Erie one city to the west of Cleveland with too many musical instruments, several large plants and no cats. My front door is purple. I collect dust, take up space and burn fossil fuel. I kayak, knit, hike, sing, canoe, write choral music and play hammered dulcimer, but not all at the same time. I read too much and don't write enough, but what's new?
I'm one of those people who disagrees with you. However, I want to assure you that you're not alone in your reasoning.For many years, I've had a close friend whose beliefs reflect yours. So she and I have had this discussion with some frequency. Choosing pessimism doesn't work for me because I have this firm belief that what I think and send out into the Universe happens around me. My mom used to say, "Dolores, you find what you look for. If you look for good, you'll find it. And if you look for bad, you'll surely find that too." Those words have evolved into my approach to life.
ReplyDeleteI have found great comfort in the assumption that everything that can go wrong, will. Similarly, I find comfort in the tragedies in the world when I compare them with the small discomforts in my own life. Ex: I have been waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store with two disgruntled children for the better part of an hour while the person in front of me whips out 1,000 coupons and pays with a check, cash, food stamps and a debit card. Then I think...at least I'm not her. Then I think...at least I have food. Then I think...I don't have to worry about getting mugged on the way home, or if I'll be able to unload the groceries by myself or if I have enough bus fare for the ride or that I don't have shoes to navigate miles of rocky terrain to arrive back at my straw hut with six dying children...well, you get it. Half full or half empty, I have a glass. Bonus!
ReplyDeleteYeah for having a glass and amen to the rest of your thoughts. Last night on PBS news hour I watched a segment on a group called GirlsUp, that is US girls helping girls in other countries, such as girls in Africa who may spend eight hours just fetching water or firewood for their families. Our good fortune is an accident of geography. We are sooo lucky merely to have been born in this place (screwed up though the government may be.)
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