Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

If I tend to get disappointed a lot, does that mean I’m an optimist?

Cup is always half full for me.

I don’t know. I have always tried to live by hoping for the best and planning for the worst. Where does that put me?

I always lean toward optimistic, but some days life does get me down and I just want to chuck the whole f——ing thing in the trash and be done with it. I don’t know what label goes with that.

Neither. I am an avowed cynic, however. What does that make me?

Pessimist. I hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Maybe I’m a Prepared Optimist?

I’m a pessimist. That way if something goes right, I’m pleasantly surprised.

More optimistic than pessimistic by nature. A trait of most extroverts, however, this has been a very challenging year and while I do not dwell on the negative, I certainly am not feeling optimistic about my financial future in this fucked up economy. I would say that I am a realist as well, meaning, that I am not in denial about the reality of things, yet, try to maintain a level of hopeful optimism.

Pessimist. I know when something bad is about to happen and it almost always does and often continually. When friends and family are either dying , sick or depressed it would be insane to be an optimist.
I was not like this when I was younger when most things went well.

I do tend to be doubtful by default, probably because of my childhood and experiences with other people. I just don’t have the ability to be happy or trusting of others without a reason (too many knife wounds). Ironically though I tend to be an optimist when in a dire situation, where I try to bring others up. I also tend to be optimistic when doing a job, especially with others, being that I can usually think of a way out of a tough situation. I have some balance I suppose, but I generally keep my pessimistic side to my self.

Methodist.

^^^ that swallows tiny bitter pills…lol

Neither. I’m a Realist.

See details in OP, @Dan_Lyons

I tend to be a little pessimistic.

Pessimist

I’m more pessimistic.

I’m so far in the negative, I make pessimists look like shining rays of sunbeam.

I am a realist. Every deluded person I met has called themselves an optimist.

@ragingloli Touché, sir. So as a realist, is the viewpoint/outcome ever positive?

I used to say I was pragmatist. Now I can admit I am a pessimistic idealist in recovery… I was once, I think an optimist.

Why do I call myself a pessimist? I can see the negative of everything first. Generally I always think of positive too. But the pessimistic side is always the louder voice and most oft listened to voice especially when I am alone. Also a friend once claimed I made him less pessimistic because being around me put things in perspective for him. The idealism part comes from having a view of how the world should theoretically work better, even if it does not function this way or I have no proof of this.

I am a zen optimist.

I am confident things will go well, but if they don’t, that’s cool.

I’m a masochist. Sucks for me.

@GloPro Ya gotta go see that new movie “The Other Woman” hilarious! The masochist takes the bull by the horns. haha

Neither.

I think I have dabbled in both optimism and pessimism. But I find both to be unsatisfactory. Either way, I am announcing (to myself) that I am able to predict, with some level of certainty, how the future will pay out. I am awful at predictions, so the future never appears as I had imagined. So I am now attempting to be open to what is happening with a curiosity that is less colored by expectations of any sort.

I was a pessimist for decades but I gradually came to realise that nothing ever happened as badly as I feared. I consider myself mainly an optimist now. Of course bad things happen sometimes, but I know that even when they do, I will be able to cope with them.

I honestly don’t know. Any weird, badly-written online quiz I can take? ~

Little Miss Sunshine reporting in . . . I’m an optimist with an oddly “negative” inner dialog on occasion. Been workin’ on that most of my life. I believe we make our own “luck” or general state of well-being. I also believe we need to fake it till we make it. Very much like @downtide observes, a pessimistic mindset can lead to anxiety and suffering beyond the scope of what is real. I applaud the many realists who’ve self-identified here.

<—- With that screen name you have to ask? Seriously? :-)

I tend to live on the optimistic side of realism. When presented with a situation or problem, I know I can almost always work out a positive solution.
Life is good! I plan to stay smiling and above the grass as long as possible.

@LuckyGuy Exactly, as long as we’re on the right side of the grass we can always find something good in life.

@Adirondackwannabe It would be even “gooder” if I could get someone else to cut it.

I’m definitely an optimist, sometimes to a fault.

Someone asked me this question.
My initial answer was I’m a pessimist.

Then my husband laughed and said If you were really a pessimist, you wouldn’t always be so disappointed with people.

Guess I’m a closeted optimist.