Optimistic Pessimist

Optimism in this day and age is such a ramshackle term.  The world seems to be going down in flames, yet having a favorable outlook about it all seems silly.  I think that’s the reason why I call myself an Optimistic Pessimist.  Most people try to split the middle by calling themselves realists, but I’m definitely not that.

I believe everything will work out for the best, though there will be pitfalls along the way.  My current example: the battery went out on the car, a dead battery is either the thing that charges the battery, the alternator; or its just a dead battery.  If it’s the alternator and you don’t check it and you replace the batter with a new one it will kill the new battery, as well.  So when does it cross the line FROM optimism to say that we should check the alternator just in case?

Why is having a backup plan not being optimistic?  I’m not planning for something to go wrong, I’m just making a plan in case something does go wrong.  Normally I make plans with huge gaps that can be filled in with whimsy, so if things change, then we can plan around it.  Why is that not being optimistic?

In the end, I’ve always said, things will go wrong, but we’ll fix it, or make it work, or we’ll just make sure we still have fun.  It’s the way of the world, maybe that’s being realistic, but I see that as more optimistic than what I consider pessimistic.

Lisa and I have this debate every now and then, simply because when something goes wrong, I go through a list of all the things that could be and work out how we are going to fix it, and then she says that’s pessimistic.  I look at her confused saying, “How is being optimistic we can fix what just went wrong in some form or fashion being pessimistic?”

I guess we’re going to be having this debate for the rest of our lives.  In the end, I know, deep down, I’m an eternal Optimist.  I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.  I know there will be times we don’t agree, or don’t get along, but in the end, we’ve both found the happiness and partner we never dreamed were possible.  Everything will go wrong all the time, but it will always come out fine, because we will make sure it does.  Optimistic Pessimism.

How do you view life?  Glass half full, glass half empty, or glass full with half water, half air?  Leave a comment and tell me!

–Dan