For me, optimism is somewhat of a default position.
It’s what’s left over when I add up everything I know and subtract it from the indefinite potentiality of what is.
In other words, I just can’t imagine ever knowing enough to be a pessimist. To be honest, I don’t even know what the distinction is between pessimism and presumptuousness.
It seems to me that the definitive drawing of negative conclusions requires a certain sort of assuredness that would only be fitting for a mind that has truly heard everything there is to hear about every fact there is to know.
Pessimism, in my opinion, is a person’s way of asserting (or assuming) the utter nonexistence of unknown possibilities.
I’m too big of a skeptic to make that assertion (or assumption).
Some people ask me, “as an optimist, do you see every situation as positive?”
My reply is, “no. Sometimes I simply don’t know what to think. I’m not a genius at seeing the brighter side of everything, but I can always see the fallacies in my thinking whenever I claim all hope to be lost.”
So, if you have a hard time being positive, welcome to the club because I’m right there with you. I’ve never been a good “believer.”
My philosophy of choice has always been skepticism.
As Socrates once stated, “wisest is she who knows she does not know.”
Try it sometime. Give not-knowing a chance. You may not be the happiest guy on the block, but you’ll be free forever from “knowing” that life stinks.
Why I’m Not a Pessimist
