The pessimist sees the glass as half-empty and can be guaranteed to bring gloom and despondency to any situation. It’s second nature to a pessimist to see the worst in any situation and to believe that the worst will always happen.
I struggle with pessimism on a daily basis, so I know that changing one’s mindset is not achieved overnight. I used to work with an eternal optimist and it always amused me how we could see the same situation so differently. I learned a lot from his enthusiasm and optimism and gradually came to see that the middle way of realism with faith is the way forward. At times, he had to learn caution and not to rush in heedlessly where angels fear to tread; more often, I had to learn to see the positives and opportunities in situations instead of always fearing the worst. Letting go of that instinctive bias towards the pessimistic is not easy, but with God, nothing is impossible.
