What is better, an optimist or a pessimist?
Which is best- being an optimist or a pessimist? Are there some advantages in being a pessimist? Should a pessimist try to be an optimist?
It seems that optimism is viewed as the correct way of thinking and that pessimists should change their ways. It also seems that optimists attract people more. I did an experiment. One day, on Twitter, I posted purely positive tweets. Examples included “Good Morning, what a wonderful day! How are you all doing” or “Feeling great today, excited about all the cool stuff I’m doing”. They weren’t lies, they were just one way of looking at the day. The next day, I posted more pessimistic tweets, for example “Morning everyone. Not sure I’m going to be able to get through all that I need to today” or “Dreadful weather we’re having, hope it gets better!”.
It was really interesting that I had much more interaction with the positive tweets. People were more likely to respond to them and I was more likely to get into a conversation than the day I posted more pessimistic tweets.
So, what do you think? Are there advantages in being a pessimist? Should we all strive to put on our smiley faces and put a more positive spin on our conversations? I’d be really interested in your thoughts!
https://www.facebook.com/ianandersongray/posts/10151200873872177
