Take this quiz to see which perspective best describes you! Are you a pessimist, an optimist, or a realist?
Optimism covers everything around you with positivity, so you expect the best possible outcome. While this might sound like an excellent problem to have, it can also be damaging. Incredibly optimistic people don’t just think positively, they can see hard truth as being negative. They want to dream, hope, and expect greatness, and they reject anything that might try to burst their bubble.
Pessimism is kind of like an umbrella that covers everything that happens around you, cloaking it with negativity. In the same way that anger can be a cloak of protection, pessimism can be wrapped around you like armor. It often starts from disappointment. The more disappointed you are, the more walls you put up to protect yourself from feeling that way again. You begin to expect the worst thing to happen because then, at least, things can only get better.
Realism is the point in the middle of these two extremes. It is the ability to assess a situation objectively and consider the pros and cons to help make an informed decision. When someone is realistic, they are sometimes seen as having two feet on the ground rather than flying in the sky with their thoughts and ideas. They are aware of the risks and challenges, but they walk forward despite those things with hope of the best possible outcome.
You wake up to a cloudy and cold day.
Do you . . .
Your team has an important game coming up. The other team is really good.
When you find out you did poorly on an assignment, do you . . .
You go to the movies, only to find out the movie you wanted to see is sold out.
You’ve been asked to try out for a team.
Your mom calls you into the living room because she needs to talk to you.