Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

[susans]

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?   Are there advantages/disadvantages to being either in the work environment?  

[gee4]

Well as most people who know me know....I am a pessimist.  I can't help it, it's in my nature.  However, when good things happen, then for me it's a bonus!

(logic in there somewhere I know)

I have to say my work life is different though.  I guess I come from the school of hard knocks and just take or dodge what life has to throw at me.  I'm generally an upbeat person so life is more or less good.

I feel our lives are what we make it so when people complain about the little things it makes me mad - if they have their health and strength they should be grateful.  Listening recently to one colleague moan about her house sale falling through, you would have thought someone died - it was very hard to listen to.

I guess I just have another approach when it comes to topics of discussion and like to share my experiences.

[Cathy S]

OPTIMIST!!!! I just can't help but see the good in people, events, places, etc.

I do have down times - but then I play Faure's Requiem and all the promises of eternal life and paradise boosts me back up to optimism.

The main thing for me is that I make my own luck - I set goals and work hard to get them and if I have a setback along the way, it is just one small setback and I dust myself off and set off on course again.

The really bizarre thing though is that one of my favourite book characters is Eyore - how pessimistic can you get?

Have a great day everyone

[queenbean]

I guess I'm an optimistic realist, ie totally upbeat (not annoyingly so!) about new ideas and concepts, ready to throw myself into anything that will be good for the company, but tempered with a little bit of realism.  I'm the one in the meeting who'll say "yes, that's a great idea let's go for it, but have you considered xyz ...".  I don't go out my way to look for difficulties, but I feel it's important to identify possible hurdles to success at the beginning so that contingencies can be put in place.  It doesn't make me a pessimist, but some of our creative people find me a bit annoying, particularly when I'm proved right.  Regularly!

QB

[spitfire78]

One of my favorite phrases when faced with a skeptical colleague who swears something isn't going to work is, "you know me - ever the optimist!"

I feel I truly am an otpimist at work.  To me the glass is always half full instead of half empty.  I always have this belief that this time everyone is going to pull their weight, do their job, things are going to work just the way we want them to, etc. etc.  You would think that 26 years in this place would have knocked that out of me because people rarely pull their weight, do their job, and things rarely work just the way we want them to.  But I keep on believing that THIS time it will happen.

However, in my personal life, I am quite a worrier, which I'm not sure goes hand in hand with being a true optimist.

[Atlanta Z3]

I try I really do!  I'm a pessimist!  hello my name is...
I'm the worst case senario person.  My logic is I would rather be prepared and then be surprized when something actually works.  
I'm married to the most even tempered logical upbeat person you have ever met - we make quite a pair.  

[peaches2160]

I am the optimist, the glass is always half full.  However, with my meeting planner background, being prepared for anything and making "fopas" appear transparent to the group/boss, is a bit pessimistic at times.  I am always upbeat and try to see the good.

[raindance]

I'm fairly optimistic by nature.  As with other posters here, for me "the glass is always half full"; there is little that is broken that can't be mended, and a bad thing is an opportunity to make a good thing.  

I know that some people say that if they have no expectations (i.e. are pessimistic) then they will not be disappointed, but that is a tragic way to live, and I have seen enough tragedy in life.  

No-one wants to be around gloomy and depressed people; equally no-one wants to be around people who are artificially "optimistic".  

The spirit of optimism should never be confused with recklessness or foolhardiness, in my opinion, so common sense and sound judgement are equally important virtues.  

There are quite a few studies around that seem to confirm that people who are optimistic often have better health, and also that it is possible to change one's outlook on life.  

[gee4]

I have to disagree Rain - I have never had bad health and for my age am quite fit.  I have had 2 medicals in 2 years and I was told height, weight, heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol are all fine.

I have suffered family bereavements in the past 12 month but still remain an upbeat person.  Like I said before it's the people who complain about their house sale falling through that makes me mad - no one died, you still have a house!

I am probably more of a realist ie. I live in the real world, not fantasy, everything is black or white, no grey.  It's good or bad, big or small, loud or quiet....no inbetweens.

I do not consider myself a gloomy person nor depressed - in fact it's listening to others that makes me depressed so I try to avoid those people.

Children are starving in the world, aids is even more rife than before, our soldiers are still at war, we should be thankful we live in a society where we have freewill and life is a peaceful as it can be.  

I had someone made a judgement call on me yesterday, they were completely insulting, out of order and made assumptions about me that were just not true.  It's other people who make us sad or hurt by their words and actions.

People who judge don't matter and people who matter don't judge.

[itsme_calista]

I'm a bit of both depending on the circumstances, I suppose that makes me a realist?  I suffer from terrible bouts of depression and so when I'm in one of those mindsets I'm always pessimistic, however, other things spur me on to be optimistic, e.g my stepdaughter battling against leukaemia and the subsequent bone marrow transplant.

It does depend for me ... I blow hot and cold like the weather unfortunately.