An Essay About Being A Pessimist

"An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?" ~ Michel De Saint-Pierre

Henry Ford once said, "If you think you can, or you think you can't, you are right!"

“A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties” ~ Harry Truman.

People are often categorized as being generally optimistic or pessimistic. Optimistic people are noted for their ability to see the good in everything, viewing the world as place full of opportunity. Pessimistic people, on the other hand, meet life with a sense of futility, viewing the world with a certain level of cynicism and negativity.

Optimists are healthier and live longer

Studies have shown that optimists not only enjoy better health but actually live longer. A Harvard study that followed the lives of 99 students from the age of 25 found that

those who were initially classified as optimists at that young age were significantly healthier at the ages of 45 and 60. Pessimism in early life is a stable predictor of poor health in later life.
Similar studies have shown that pessimism is a good predictor of not only infectious disease but also of early mortality.

In other words, being a pessimist literally means that you will likely die sooner. Research conducted on cancer patients has shown that those who are optimists have healthier outcomes than those who are pessimists.

Optimists are less stressed and less depressed

In terms of emotional health, optimists experience less stress than pessimists and are less likely to fall into a severe depression even when faced with a catastrophic event such as the death of a loved one or failure of a marriage. Training clinically depressed patients to think optimistically has been shown to relieve depression better than the application of antidepressant drugs.

Learning to think optimistically is a more long-lasting solution to the problem of depression. A recent study conducted by the FDA has shown that antidepressants of-ten do not treat all the symptoms of depression, the solution of learning to engage in optimistic thinking is all the more

potent.
Optimists perform better, bounce back from setbacks faster and are more persistent. This persistence leads them to keep trying long after the pessimists have given up, which is one of the reasons for their greater success.

Optimists have a more satisfying personal life
Optimists also enjoy healthier happier relationships, not just romantic relationships, but relationships with friends, co-workers and even bosses. Optimists generally ex-press a greater level of satisfaction with the people in their lives and have longer marriages.

Optimists are happier
Most importantly, optimists enjoy life more. Give an optimist and a pessimist the same exact life circumstances and the optimist will express a greater level of subjective pleasure with his life than the pessimist will.

Do you see the glass as half empty or half full? Do you inspire people around you to be optimistic or pessimistic? Act cheerfully and look for ways to add more fun to whatever you do.