For a long time, I was pessimistic by default. The I realized the appeal of pessimism–that I could minimize disappointment through negativity–is still disappointing, and makes for a dreary existence.
For a long time, I was pessimistic by default. The I realized the appeal of pessimism–that I could minimize disappointment through negativity–is still disappointing, and makes for a dreary existence.
Had a similar thought recently. I had a tree fall over and a lot of it got stuck in a different tree. We were discussing how easy or hard it would be to get everything down. I thought: if I hope it’s easy, and it is easy, I’ll feel content in being right and having the right mindset; if I hope it’s easy, and it’s hard, I’ll be frustrated both by being wrong and the difficulty of the work being more than expected; if I think it will be hard, and it is hard, I’ll be content in being right and having an appropriate mindset; if I think it will be hard and it’s easy; I’ll be excited at completing what I thought was something difficult easily. Only one way of thinking can lead to a sense of receding expectations.
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Pessimism felt safe, but it slowly drained the joy out of things. Choosing a little hope made life feel more alive, even if it stings sometimes.
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Oscillating between being depressed about the world and being depressed about how easily one becomes depressed. With brief bouts of forgetting to be depressed. 🙂 God job you changed.
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I’ve found that little steps help like noticing one good thing each day, or gently reminding myself that not everything is as bad as my mind predicts. It takes time, but even small shifts in thinking can bring a lot of peace 🙂
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The problem is that we expect the worst. Then, the argument goes, it’s not a shock. But until it happens, we are living with anxiety, which isn’t good. And often the worst doesn’t happen.
I try not to be pessimistic, but sometimes it’s hard.
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I always believe in the glass half full approach of life
Yes there are disappointments along the way but I always believe that my ship will come.
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