Optimism Vs. Pessimism

[Anti Establishment]

Consider a following case:
A person has to perform a task(say write an exam).Assume him to
be pessimistic.After he writes the exam,he says he had done badly
(althouh he knows that he was not-so-bad).Now,when the results come,
if he fares badly,he could say "I told you" and feel smug.If he had
done well,he would feel doubly happy than when he had said "I did well"
prior to getting the results.
So,isint pessimism better than optimism?Or could it have affected his
performance?

[kryon]

Do you think the pessimistic will live in a worring life ?

"Anti Establishment" <astramam...@yahoo.com> ?????
news:2c43779a.01082...@posting.google.com...

[alan jones]

Would the pessimest even bother to sit the exam?-)

Anti Establishment <astramam...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:2c43779a.01082...@posting.google.com...

[Kate Gicante]

Will it effect his performance? Absolutely! If you convince yourself that
you'll do poorly, then it's considerably more likely that you will.
Consider the influence others have on our lives... if we are told repeatedly
that we are worthless, do we not start to think perhaps we really are
worthless? Works the same way, if not more so, when we're receiving that
negative reinforcement from our own selves.
Not to mention the psychosomatic health problems associated with pessimistic
thinking....
Having tried both approaches to life, I much prefer overall optimism.

"Anti Establishment" <astramam...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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[Taechon]

Anti Establishment wrote in message
<2c43779a.01082...@posting.google.com>...
>Consider a following case:

(althouh he knows that he was not-so-bad)

<snip>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

You need to pay attention to what you wrote. The person you described is
not pessimistic. He is only acting pessimistic. There is a very big
difference. If he truly feels pessimistic, it may influence the outcome of
the test. It may lead to a lack of confidence, un-necessary time delays
during the test as a result of worry and uncertainty.

The optimistic person does not spend time worrying. However, in my mind
there is such a thing as being too optimistic too. I'm imagining the glassy
eyed smiling religious figures that appear at my front door every now and
then, oblivious to the reality of life that surrounds them or the dingy
blond bomber who just thinks everything is going to work out okay. Though
they never crack open the books or do the work they somehow think that life
is going to work out just fine and they are going to pass the test. When
they don't, o-well, that's just fate... or God's plan. No one can question
God's plan because he moves in m y s t e r I o u s ways. (meant to be
metaphorical and not literal. Men can be dingy blondes too.)