WHY WE SHOULD ALL BE PESSIMISTS

Yes, you read that right. All of us should be pessimists. Contrary to popular beliefs, nothing is wrong with being a pessimist. In fact being a pessimist gives you a kind of freedom from unnecessary anxiety and disappointing expectations.

In this life, there are basically two kinds of principles that governs the lives of people;

The Principle of Pessimism; and
The Principle of Optimism.
But Life itself recognises only a single principle of life- The Principle of Realism. So whether you are a Pessimist or you are an Optimist doesn't matter, you are still wrong. Life recognises only The Realists, but unfortunately none of us fall into that category because Reality is dynamic and none of us can comprehend it.

In short, all of us are just living a life that is directed by confusion even though we have the conviction that we are living the right life. The variance of the wrongfulness of the two principles that govern human life is however varying in degree. To put it in perspective, just assume that Optimism, Pessimism and Realism are planets. Pessimism and Realism would be in the same Solar System while Optimism would be in another Universe entirely.

If you've been around for a while, you'd have seen a few dimensions of Reality, and you would agree with me that there is nothing optimistic about it. You would notice that the closest thing to Reality is, in fact, Pessimism. The Malthusian Theory regarding how population growth, if not controlled, would eventually exceed the capability of the Earth to sustain it resulting in mass death of mankind from extreme famine is an eye opener on the prevalence of the Principle of Pessimism. The United Nations do not totally subscribe to this theory but measures have been and are still being put in place to prevent that eventuality because they realized that Malthus' Theory is not far from reality. You will hardly find any such theories that forecasts a future utopian society that would characterize the perspectives of an Optimist. Even if you do find one, taking a stroll and a look around would definitely convince you otherwise.

Why should we all be Pessimists?.

I am sure you've seen the reason already. But to further put it in perspective, let's use the popular example of a Cup that is filled to the middle with water.

An Optimist will see that and say 'Oh, the cup is half full'. So what does he do?. He either sits around and wait for someone to top-up the cup until it is fully full or he looks for ways of doing it himself. A waste of time if he chooses the former and a waste of resources if he goes with the latter.

A Pessimist on the other hand would see the cup and say 'Geez, it's half empty already'. So what does he do?. He grabs the cup and drinks the water before someone else does, after all he is a Pessimist. Saves time, saves resources.

Can you see how close the action of the Pessimist is to the proverbial action of the Realist, whom we agree does not exist, in this popular illustration?

Have you seen why you should be a pessimist?

In case you haven't, let me cite a real life example. Suppose there is a vacancy for a job and both the Pessimist and the Optimist applied for it. But none of them got the job, who do you think would be more disappointed and depressed? Exactly!, the Optimist. It may seem ironic but being a Pessimist relieves you of the effect of disappointments because you actually expect disappointments. Less disappointments equal less depression.

Meanwhile, the Optimist on the other hand suffers several series of brutal disappointments until he eventually becomes a sore, reluctant and grumpy Pessimist with a bruised ego.

Have you now seen the reason we should all be Pessimists?.

"Disappointment is the order of the day. Expect it and you'd rarely be disappointed".

O.M.G 2018.




Lalaticlala,

Mynd44,

Nairalanders, let's hear your opinions and feedbacks.

The write up is #facts. It feels like I've read it somewhere before.
Being a pessimist leaves no room for disappointment. I've enjoyed my life more following this rule although once in a while I still get sad from a disappointment which I already forecasted. I guess humans are stuck in their ways of always expecting the best outcome all the time.

This is a very nice and insightful write up .

In fact being a pessimist gives you a kind of freedom from unnecessary anxiety and disappointing expectations.

those are the exact words I said to my brother some weeks ago when he broke down emotionally after someone disappointed him .
We should hope for the best ,but also always prepare for the worst .
Even though there are some circumstances where we can’t help it .

Lalasticlala. This should be on fp ...
what do you think?

Olohunjedalo:
Lalasticlala. This should be on fp ...
what do you think?

It's a long write up. There's nothing to debate in it, you either agree on the topic or don't. There is no middle ground to the equation. It has all the rulings of an anti-front page article so I don't see it getting there.
There is a benefit though, the only comments you will see here are well thought out from people who actually took the time to read the post. All the responses will display an air of intelligence, exposure and experience.

okwabayi:

It's a long write up. There's nothing to debate in it, you either agree on the topic or don't. There is no middle ground to the equation. It has all the rulings of an anti-front page article so I don't see it getting there.
There is a benefit though, the only comments you will see here are well thought out from people who actually took the time to read the post. All the responses will display an air of intelligence, exposure and experience.

Are you sure you’re ok?
Who said anything about debates ?

Olohunjedalo:

Are you sure you’re ok?
Who said anything about debates ?

Debating is the point of intelligent thinking individuals being on this forum. I pointed out the reasons this thread won't hit front page. Rather than rubbishing my opinion a counter argument would have made more sense.
I'll wait. Your type rarely has intelligent comebacks.

okwabayi:

Debating is the point of intelligent thinking individuals being on this forum. I pointed out the reasons this thread won't hit front page. Rather than rubbishing my opinion a counter argument would have made more sense.
I'll wait. Your type rarely has intelligent comebacks.

Ok