Pessimism Works

For much of my life I wasn't what you would call an overly optimistic person. In hindsight, I'm not really sure why, but someone I dated during my college years finally drug me out of the pessimistic pit I had been residing in.

The thing is, I like being somewhat pessimistic. I hate the feeling of thinking something is a sure thing, via optimism, and then have it not come to fruition. It's almost like a kick in the nuts. I prefer to remain overly cautious that something will actually occur and enjoy the surprise when it does.

Is that so strange? Overly optimistic people bug the bejesus outta me. Equally so, pessimistic people piss me off. Why? Because these people become obtuse to the true nature of life.

I learned a while back that if you go one way or the other you become too complacent with life. When you become complacent with life, you invariably drive yourself to various problems that you think are ultimately out of your control. It is not always a terrible thing to fail, just as it is not a terrible thing to succeed.

As my best friend and I always say, if you knock me down, I'm just gonna get back up and fight even harder.

People generally give me dirty looks when I say I'm a bit of a pessimist. I understand it is most likely due to the negative connotations of the world, but I am quite happy with my views. Again, I would rather be surprised by something good than crushed by something bad. Call me a realist if you will, but it has worked quite well for me the last few years.

I like to be prepared for things in life, if some of you have not gathered that from my posts over the years. Preparation, in my eyes, is the key to success. My slightly pessimistic tendencies help to ensure that I am as prepared as I can be, or at least I believe so.

Thus I ask, is being pessimistic so wrong?