As soon as I ask this question, I realise that it is a wrong question. We have all these elements within us that tells us to be an optimist or pessimist. A realist defines themselves as someone who gets things done. A realist also tells us that they know exactly what to think at any point in time. My take is that a realist is a fake. Instead, both optimism and pessimism are out there to help us. The best thing we can do is to use these for our benefit and find a way to move ahead in life.
Optimist? Pessimist? Realist?
If I ask you this question, I am sure that the first few answers that come are your name, the attributes you are known for, the characteristics you associate yourselves with and so on. If I fine tune the question to the above one asking whether you are an optimist or a pessimist most people including me would say that they are optimists, very few would say they are pessimists. Some take the moral high ground and happily claim that they are realists cos they are above all these nitty gritties and they know how to lead their life. Let us try and see what each one tries to say
I AM AN OPTIMIST!
Well of course you are! You try to see what is good with everything, try to find the best out of every situation and see how best you can use it and stay on the top of the situation. You are someone who is very happy with that definition of life but at some times you might miss out on a few things which are real like the fears, probable challenges, traps, shortcomings and sometimes a little overconfident as well. Nevertheless, you are quite a charm cos you have enough energy to try and I have a lot of respect for that
I AM A PESSIMIST!
Well it is an interesting choice. Something you would notice about a pessimist is that they are right most of the times, they rarely go wrong, they anticipate the problems and have clearly laid out reasons as to why something might not work. But something not that great about this is that they usually have such a big list of reasons that they don’t even start most times.
They are happy in a theoretical world. And my question would be – I agree that they might be right, but what do they gain by it? There is no action to induce any results. Even by being perfect, the max they are ensuring is mediocrity. Atleast an optimist tries which ups his chances by an easy 100% : Here are a few ways to get you out of pessimism
I AM A REALIST!
Some people are very smart! They are a new breed of the new generation, they have answers for everything and sometimes a little cocky about it as well. They calmly say with a hint of contempt that they are REALISTS. I have often wondered who they are cos they say they are being real and they evaluate the situation very well. But I have a complaint with them as well. They never take any risks.
They hide behind the cloak of realism and don’t even try out something new or risky cos they have calculations to prove that. I can promise you that these are the kind who will never jump off a cliff, nor the ones who would invent an airplane cos the reality says that odds are against your favour!
So what’s better? – Optimist, Pessimist or Realist?
Well, who cares for these definitions? It is your life, you know what you want out of it. It has to be a mix of all. It is natural to be pessimistic and be aware of the risks, it is natural to be optimistic and not care about the risks and take a plunge and it is also natural to calculate what the outcome can be and be a realist as well.
Why bother about these definitions, it is your life, you got to be all, you got to have a mix of these and you got to know how to choose and shift the paddles the way you want. That is the beauty of life – BALANCE
The point is – You can be anything or anyone you want to be! And the real question is what serves you the best in that situation, you have to be all of them. There is no superpower optimist or a self-claimed realist and the cocky opportunist, it is YOU who matters and you know what works best.
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I am Optimist
For me, the pessimist is a realist with too many bad experiences in life and the optimist is a realist in potential or a mere dreamer.
That’s another interesting way of looking at it Matheikal. In that essence a realist is someone who has marked his journey on being a pessimist. I guess we all start as staunch optimists and as we keep getting hit in life, we tend to inch a little towards pessimism.. Having said that, there are staunch incorrigible optimists as well ;)
Well I would love to keep life happy & simple. And free of any definitions.
That’s a very sensible way Harsh :)
I have always endorsed “balance”…that gives the life a well defined look.
A good post here Vinay :)
Thank you Namrota :). True, a well defined look indeed
I don’t know in which category I can count myself, but it is a fact that I use to see all the things, but generally ignore all the bad things around. I strongly believe that it is always better to see the good things.
BTW Vinay, what will you call me an optimist? Pessimist? or Realist?
Honestly I would call you a free spirit Alok :).. Someone who is evolved and not bothered by the mundane definitions of life.
I think it is a very smart and a simple way of looking at life, ignoring the bad and looking at what we can do best with the resources we have, smart indeed :)
Thank you so much Vinay :)
I would like to add a little correction. I consider myself to be a realist and I have taken risks quite a number of times. So, those who don’t take risks and call themselves realists are liars.
Thank you Abhishek for the thoughts. I am mostly away from all these definitions, I think we take all these roles at different points of our lives and it is very hard to sideline and actually very limited for us to constrain ourselves to one view. I have met a lot of realists and a lot of optimists too and between the two, I can promise you that optimists are more prone to taking risks than realists. I still think realist is a word which has been introduced as a latest trend and of the latest generation. But I am afraid whether there is something like that at all, the same thing goes to optimists and pessimists as well..
you know what, there are a lot of terms trending in the modern society. These terms make it very difficult for observers like us to see the truth. A lot of people call me a cynic when I criticize their misplaced optimism. I like to hope as hope gives me strength but at the same time I can not hope for something which is practically impossible.
Perhaps Abhishek! I am a huge fan of these words and their usage, and in my experience I have seen the word realist being used mostly as an excuse and very less as a definition. Like I said, I am still very much against any definition and I think it is a simplistic approach being able to flex in different dimensions. I don’t have anything against people who are realists as long as it is not an excuse. Having said that, as long as it works for you, and with you being the centre if it all falls into place, well then nothing like it :)
I am reminded of a similar situation I am in. I hate the term intellectual. I agree with you, these are just terms and they should be used only as adjectives.
:). I hate it too Abhishek, intellectual also is being easily used as an umbrella to hide. I think we are all humans when we strip down to the base emotions and there is no point in clinging on to one particular sect alone.. There is so much more in widening ourselves up!
that is very true
I believe it is about balance. I aim for my positive thoughts and optimism to outweigh the negative thoughts and pessimism on the whole.
Tomorrow is another day and another opportunity to be optimistic!!!
Great writing as always… :)
Have a nice day :)
True Veena, I think that one word sums it all. It is about a life of opportunities and possibilities, anything that provides us an outlet for that is quite a fascinating trend indeed. :)
“There is no superpower optimist or a self claimed realist and the cocky opportunist, it is YOU who matters”… absolutely Vinay! Couldn’t agree more :-).
Thank you Antara :).. I get a little excited when it comes to definitions and sometimes vociferous as well. I strongly believe that people are wasting their time in these definitions instead of looking at the bigger picture and sometimes using it as an excuse as well!
True Vinay :-).
:)
It seems I am not the only one who has problems with all these optimism, pessimism and realistic definitions and people who set such labels :) You are absolutely right about never defining oneself !
Ha ha :).. Well you have some company Najm, infact a very strong and vociferous one on that front :)
Nice read ! I agree–Stop defining & I also believe to take Life as it comes good wishes
Thank you Ruchi :). I think it is a very simple way of looking at it, more words means more complications and much messier that way. Life is certainly meant to be simple
Simple pleasures of life :-) live life good wishes
Simple pleasures indeed.. Little things don’t mean a lot, they mean everything! :)