Guest Blogger: Box in a Cat 2 by Loki

“Would you say that this cup of juice is half full or half empty?” My ESL teacher repeated. Puzzled and rather disappointed, I explained to her with what broken English I had that I was thirsty and that I demand a full cup.

That was nearly 11 years ago; the first time I was introduced to the oldest trick in the book that attempts to categorize people into ether a pessimist or an optimist. This piece of memory inspired an interesting conversation two days ago between me and a college. That was when I first realised that I might be a pessimist. The dictionary.com definition for pessimism is: the tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions, problems, etc. You might see someone describing themselves as being optimistic but you’ll never see the word pessimist on a resume presumably because the word itself has many negative connotations. Pessimism infers characteristics of sadness, depression, cynicism, failure, and quitting. I’ve never noticed how incorrect these connotations were until the conversation I had two days ago. I mentioned to my college that I always attempt to anticipate all undesirable outcomes. “You’re a pessimist then” he slurred. Taken aback, I reasoned that I’m in fact an optimist because I have always been the last one to quit regardless of the hopelessness of the situation. It was then that we agreed being pessimistic does not make you a quitter. King Leonidas stood his ground in the battle of Thermopylae whiling anticipated his inevitable death. Group of Zealots held the fortress of Masada for over 3 years with overwhelming odds against the unrelenting Roman Empire. You could argue that the Zealots fought because they are sanctimonious or borderline insane, but Leonidas certainly didn’t seem like he is depressed. Anticipation or even acceptance of undesired outcomes does not necessarily translate into depression or hopeless. The fact is that the pessimistic view allows people to anticipate the worst, and in comparison, it can make every other living moment brighter. The cynical view of pessimism will probably remain for my lifetime ever, but I’m no longer hesitant to proclaim myself a pessimist. I mean what is the worst that could happen?

Loki