The pessimist & the Optimist: Which are you? Part 1

The defining characteristic of a pessimist is that they tend to believe that bad events will last a very long time, that it will undermine everything that they do, and that it’s their fault.

An optimist thinks about misfortune in an opposite way. They believe defeat is a temporary setback, its causes are confined to this one case, and that it is absolutely not their fault. Optimists are unfazed by defeat. Confronted by a bad situation, they perceive it as a challenge and they try harder.

Everything begins with a thought, a belief, or an idea, and there are consequences to our thoughts. Thoughts can manifest, therefore, being an optimist or a pessimist affects the outcome of your life.

Optimism is a very important quality to have, because when we are in a positive state of mind, that is the energy we’re able to draw. So if we think positively, we attract that energy to ourselves, and conversely, when we’re in a negative state of mind we draw judgment.

So if a person is happy or sad, which in essence means optimistic or pessimistic, depending on where his mind is and where his thoughts are, that is the energy he is drawing down to himself.

And the same idea was expressed by the Baal Shem Tov, a famous kabbalist, when he said “We think we are sad because things don’t go our way, when in reality things don’t go our way because we are sad.”

Journal
Think about a situation that you perceive as challenging.
What are your thoughts around this issue? Are the positive or negative?