Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you look at the glass half full or half empty? All of my life I’ve heard that I am both. A lot of people say I’m an optimist, and a few others have said that I’m a pessimist. I think that the people who have said that I was an optimist is because I always gave people the benefit of the doubt. I tried to find the good in everyone. I also believed in miracles and great things happening out of nowhere. I try to have faith in certain situations and hope for the best even if it looks really bad. On the other hand, the few people who have called me a pessimist is mainly because I worry a lot. I constantly go back in forth on the small things, and my own capabilities in certain settings. I have no problems believing in others, but it’s hard believing in myself, especially after years and years of disappointments.
So how do I see myself? Well, I’m not quite sure to be honest. I do feel like a big part of me sees myself as a person of delusion. I think there’s a thin line between highly optimistic and delusion. Everything I attempt I imagine it going far and I think this could be it, and then when it doesn’t turn out how I pictured, it becomes more disappointing. The same thing goes for when a loved one get sick, and no matter how sicker they become I still hope for the best and believe that it can be turned around. I’ve seen it happen for other families, so I think why not mine? Any MANY times, it didn’t go in the direction that I hoped. When things like this happen, I tell myself that I will lower my hopes and protect my heart, but every time I’m back in a similar situation I go straight to the high hopes. It’s like I’m setting myself of up every time, but I can’t help it. Maybe it’s just my way of dealing with things. I’m not really sure.
I also can see myself becoming more of a pessimist more and more these days. After everything that I’ve witnessed and everything that has happened it’s hard to keep my head in the clouds these days. I try to refrain from keeping my hopes up about anything, but like most people I say it’s not really pessimism it’s realism (although I sometimes feel like people disguise pessimism with realism). No one wants to be labeled a pessimist, so people often hide behind the word “realist” and that’s fine. I’m familiar with the harsh realities of life, and I don’t know why I always expect the good when things have gone the other way majority of the time. Maybe it’s my inner big kid trying to keep hope alive and keep me from becoming a real-life Eeyore in human form. If I took away every strand of optimism that I have in me, I would be a ball of misery. There would be no reason to fight for anything. And if I was just an optimist in EVERY situation, I would constantly be filled with disappointments. I guess that’s why I tend to balance between the two. I have to keep myself afloat while also protecting my heart. You need optimism to keep you striving for better things. If you have big dreams, then that’s one trait that you need to possess. So yes, I guess I am an Optimist-Pessimist Hybrid.
What do you classify yourself as? Are you an optimist, pessimist, or a balance of both? Let me know in the comment section below! 😊
JustGottaMakeIt 