An optimist is a person who has a positive assessment of the prospects for the future. He believes that everything will end well, he is confident that all life goals are achievable. An optimist also evaluates people positively. He believes that they can be trusted, that they will help him in difficult times, and knows how to interact with them. Optimism is the opposite of pessimism.
The girl is a cheerful optimist
Who is an optimist
A classic metaphor for what it means to be an optimist is the example of a glass filled with 50% water. The first person (optimist) believes that he is half full, and the second (pessimist) believes that he is half empty. The reality remains the same, but its interpretation is radically different. An optimist does not wear rose-colored glasses, but perceives reality as friendly.
A classic optimist among philosophers was Gottfried Leibniz, who believes that the world in which man lives is the best possible.
What “optimist” means can be easily illustrated with an example. If an optimist or an optimist (what this is is not always clear to the average person) experiences some kind of failure, he perceives it as an accident. Therefore, he does not give up at the slightest difficulty.
Smiley is a symbol of an optimist
Interestingly, even the attitude towards suffering differs from person to person. In Buddhist culture this is the norm. Without suffering there will be no development, so we must learn to accept it. That is, they even have a different attitude towards emotions. Buddhists do not consider a bad mood, in our opinion, to be such a thing. They have a more optimistic attitude. There is a negative emotion - let it be. It is necessary to influence the cause, and not the condition itself.
A pessimist usually does not try to solve a problem, he tries to remove an unpleasant emotion. That's why there are so many alcoholics among pessimists. The problem is not being solved, but is only getting worse. The man is trying to drown it out. It becomes easier for a while, but then negative emotions return with a vengeance.
Ancient philosophers formulated the so-called paradox of hedonism: the more you strive for positive emotions in themselves and try to avoid negative ones, the less of the former and the more of the latter.
Important ! Pessimists often say that they are realists. It is not right. Realism is a sign of a sane person. You shouldn’t think ahead, you need to deal with the current situation. It's just that optimistic people can see opportunity in trouble and approach problems with humor. To be fair, their mood may also drop. There may be a sad face, they may shout and sometimes make too much of difficulties. All people. Simply those who have a positive outlook on life rise up and can send all problems into the distance.
Advantages and disadvantages of pessimists
Since pessimism is traditionally associated with negative qualities, let's start with the negatives:
- predominance of negative emotions;
- quarrelsomeness, conflict;
- frequent complaints and dissatisfaction, tediousness;
- shifting blame and responsibility to others;
- lack of determination;
- high susceptibility to stress;
- hypochondria.
As a result, such people usually have very few friends. Due to the fact that a pessimist is most often negative and talks about problems and shortcomings, it is very difficult to discern an interesting interlocutor in him.
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At the same time, this type of attitude also has positive aspects:
- A pessimist is always ready for undesirable scenarios, and therefore often calculates his every step, weighing the pros and cons. He does not rush headlong into the pool and looks at life more pragmatically than an inveterate optimist.
- A person who is determined to fail will not panic or be upset if his predictions come true. Less hope means less disappointment.
- He is less likely to find himself in dangerous and unpleasant situations, because he does not trust strangers and shows increased vigilance and caution. A pessimist will not go on a trip without a first aid kit, will not leave home without an umbrella when clouds are gathering in the sky, and will not go to play in a casino, predicting his loss in advance.
- At the slightest discomfort, such a person will most likely immediately go to the doctor, which will help recognize the disease at an early stage and prevent the development of the disease.
Interesting fact. The teachings of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer were often called the philosophy of universal pessimism. He believed that life was given not for happiness, but for suffering. It is he who owns the phrase “This world is the worst possible.” Another thinker, Eduard von Hartmann, was also a supporter of his pessimistic philosophy.
Is it good or bad to be an optimist?
Kinesthetic - what kind of person is this?
It all depends on the degree to which this quality is expressed. If an optimistic person sees only the positive aspects without noticing the negative ones, this can play a cruel joke on him. After all, any negative assessment is designed to protect a person, to identify a threat and eliminate it.
Optimists are more likely to be successful
Therefore, any extreme is harmful. Excessive pessimism prevents you from achieving success and makes life miserable. Excessive optimism leads to carelessness or gambling due to underestimation of the degree of possible risks.
Moreover, reasonable optimism is closely related to good health because:
- It prevents learned helplessness. Therefore, a person is more likely to see a doctor if something is wrong with his health. A pessimist will not do anything to improve his health, because he will not believe in success. He won't even have the desire to improve anything.
- Promotes a healthy lifestyle. A pessimistic person is prone to addiction. He may pass on junk food or drink excessively alcoholic drinks, hoping to improve his mood. An optimist knows how to rejoice on his own; he does not need harmful stimulants.
- Knows how to establish relationships with people. Therefore, he has more friends, in general he is more successful, because his friends really help him.
Optimism is the key to a successful and happy life.
Types of optimism
To finally understand who an optimist is, and to understand why this word can have both positive and negative connotations, let’s consider the two groups into which psychologists divide optimistic people.
1. Rational type
. Optimists in this group are close to realists because they believe in a positive outcome, but analyze circumstances and assess risks. They do not believe in unexpected luck and do not expect a miracle. They believe in themselves and make determined efforts to improve their current situation. The rationality of his own behavior makes such an optimist happy and cheerful, therefore it is this type that usually achieves success both in the business sphere and in his personal life.
2. Irrational type
. Optimists in this group are confident in a favorable outcome, even when there is no basis for this confidence. They do not analyze the situation, do not try to optimize their actions to improve it. They are simply confident that everything will be resolved successfully. This type of optimism dulls vigilance, preventing a person from making informed and thoughtful decisions.
Types of optimists
Phlegmatic - who is he, brief description
To understand in more detail what an optimist is, it is necessary to know the typology of people with this character trait. Researchers distinguish two main types of positive thinking: metaphysical and concrete. The difference between them is that people with the first type of thinking evaluate the world as a whole positively, the second - specific situations.
Another classification divides optimists into expansive and defensive. The first are determined to succeed, the second are determined that there will be no failure. Moreover, they are interdependent according to the principle of communicating vessels: the more pronounced one type is, the less pronounced the other. They depend on the current motivation.
Satisfied with life optimist
Pessimism has its positive sides
Who is a pessimist, according to the majority? A loser who, due to his bad character and eternal discontent, has no friends.
This is true only for the most persistent, most “ideological” pessimists, a textbook example of which can be considered a mechanic named Philidor Zeleny from Kir Bulychev’s stories about Alisa Selezneva. His immortal phrases: “This will not end well!” and “But I warned you!” can be called a reflection of the most negative side of the pessimistic view.
However, there are also conditionally “moderate” pessimists, which means that there are people who see not the whole world in black, but only its individual parts. The definition of the term itself suggests that a pessimist is someone who constantly expects meanness and misfortune from the world. And this is where his strength lies.
A true pessimist always remembers: no matter how much you hope for a successful outcome of events, the probability of an unsuccessful outcome is much higher, and in order to minimize the damage, you should, while hoping for the best, always prepare for the worst. Therefore, a pessimist who strives for self-improvement does not have to try to change his outlook on life - sometimes it is enough to develop his strengths (foreseeing troubles and preparing for them) and learn to cope with negative ones.
How to recognize an optimist
How to become an optimist if you are a pessimist - is it real and what to do?
It is not difficult to distinguish a positively thinking person from a pessimist. Just look at compliance with the following characteristics:
- Cheerfulness. An optimist is in a positive frame of mind most of the time. A pessimist spends too much time fighting negative emotions, which exhausts him even more. An optimist, even if he gets worried, does not carry the negative inside himself for a long time. Any emotion passes if it is not consciously untwisted. A pessimist makes himself look bad, and an optimist makes himself look good. As Anthony Robbins said, it takes equal effort to become depressed or excited.
- Energy. A positive thinker believes that it is possible to achieve a goal. Therefore, he is able to work most of the time. He is full of strength to realize what he wants.
- Attitude to successes and failures. An optimist does not perceive failure as a tragedy. He knows how to turn them to their advantage. A pessimist thinks about his failures for a long time and is afraid of making another mistake.
- Health. In the long term, his health is much better than that of a pessimist.
Important ! Not always the one who looks like an optimist actually is. You can recognize such a person only through direct communication with him. During a general difficulty, an optimist will inform everyone about ways to solve the problem, rather than whining along with others.
Definitions
Optimism translated from the Latin optimus means “best.” This is a positive attitude towards life, reflecting faith and hope for a positive or desired outcome of any events.
Accordingly, an optimist is one who sees the positive sides in everything, looks at life with an open heart and always hopes for the best.
In contrast to this concept, the word “pessimism” is used. From Latin pessimus translates as “worst” and means a negative outlook on life.
A pessimist is a person who finds a reason for dissatisfaction and despondency in everything, always relies on a negative outcome and complains about life.
In simple words, optimism and pessimism are two sides of the same coin, two opposing views on the same conditions and circumstances.
How to communicate with an optimist
A person who is used to being despondent sometimes does not understand: who is this optimist? He thinks somehow strangely, unrealistically. At least that's what he thinks. Sometimes it is quite difficult for a pessimist to communicate with a person who has a positive mindset, because the difference in their worldview is too great. A pessimist is more conflicted, so he can spoil the nerves of an optimist. Therefore, the recommendation is this: you need to learn from him. Any person with a positive mindset has a valuable behavior pattern that helps him overcome any difficulties in life.
Optimist man
It is useful to communicate with optimists in order to receive support from them. It is important not to parasitize here. It's better to become one yourself. As a short-term measure, seeking reassurance from an optimist can also be helpful.
Optimists are more flexible and solve problems situationally, while pessimists tend to constantly play it safe and perform hundreds of rituals to feel normal. This can also complicate their relationship.
To learn how to communicate correctly with an optimist, you need to understand how he thinks. To do this, it is important to communicate more with such a rare, but this makes it even more valuable, category of people.
The third side of the coin is the perfect rib
Realism has many meanings: for some it means a dry businessman who methodically calculates how to profitably evaluate a given situation, while others believe that an interesting extreme is better than a boring, smooth middle. In reality, being a realist means recognizing that any situation can turn out in either a good or bad direction; that life is multifaceted and does not provide ready-made answers; You can’t constantly expect troubles, but you shouldn’t hope only for joys either, so as not to be deceived.
A realist looks at the situation evenly and reasonably, makes decisions based on the actual state of affairs. He does not console himself with the thought that “tomorrow will be better,” but he also does not spoil his mood with thoughts about the troubles that may follow good luck.
Realism allows you to soberly assess those around you, your own actions, not go too far when making decisions, and makes it possible to show flexibility depending on the situation: a realist, without being tied to one extreme or another, has the opportunity to choose the type of his own reaction.
Where for a pessimist there is almost no water in the glass, and mentally he is dying of thirst, afraid to take a sip; but for the optimist there is still a lot of water, and he will die after finishing the water in one gulp; a realist will clearly calculate how quickly he can allow himself to empty his glass so as not to be left a fool.
How to become an optimist
To become an optimist, you need to follow these recommendations:
- Be calm with your emotions. If negativity appears, you just need to let it be. There is no need to get involved in sad emotions or try to do something about them. Any emotions are short-term. If you don't unwind them, they will go away on their own. An optimist knows how to live in harmony with any of his emotions, even those that are considered negative.
- Meditate. Meditation allows you to train the skill of accepting your emotional state. This is an effective self-observation technique.
- Decide on goals. You need to understand what a person generally wants in life, build a plan on how to achieve it. After this, you need to take and take the first step. It will be easier later. When the first successes begin, emotions will automatically become positive.
- Ask a question how to use an unpleasant situation. In psychology, this approach is called surplus. Instead of sitting and sadly thinking about what a person has lost from a crisis situation, it is much wiser to determine what he has gained.
- Act despite negative emotions and doubts. Probably the most important tip. As they say, appetite comes with eating. It's the same with inspiration. It comes only when a person begins to do something.
- Reliance on previous successes plays an important role in the formation of optimism. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to even small successes.
If you follow these simple recommendations, becoming an optimist will not be difficult. In short, being a positive person is beneficial on all fronts. An optimist and an optimist are people who can truly be called happy.
