Are You An Optimist Or A Pessimist?

When I was younger, I think I saw the glass half empty. I was much more pessimistic then than I am now. Why? Maybe it was the way I grew up. Times could be pretty rough and although we'd have good times, eventually the bad would return. My mother told me there was a curse on our family and I began to believe it.

If you're not born with an optimistic temperament, you have to learn it. Sometimes I'm still pretty pessimistic but I've learned over the years to reassure myself when things go wrong--the setbacks are temporary and things will get better. People are not generally mean or bad. There's always hope, even when it all seems hopeless or worthless.

Here's the results of a quiz I just took:

Are You An Optimist Or Pessimist?
Your Results:
Openly Optimistic

You sail easily through life, propelled by a belief that things will work themselves out. Whether you believe in destiny or simply the goodness of man, you don't sweat the small stuff. Your positive attitude creates a climate of success, where good things happen frequently. When things do go wrong, you learn from your mistakes and move on. Optimism is a wonderful trait, so keep doing what you do best! Just be careful that your optimistic attitude does not lead to complacency. Being overly optimistic may keep you from trying your best to succeed, or even guide you into staying in a situation that is bad for you. As long as you have balance and a healthy sense of intuition, your optimism can take you far in life.

What made me switch sides? For one thing, there's a lot of truth to this old saying--"smile and the world smiles with you, cry and you cry alone." Now, I'm not saying we should all repress feelings of sadness and walk around with smiles pasted on our faces. It's normal to feel sad or to grieve. However, it's also a known fact that when you smile you brain produces an enorphin that makes you feel better. And have you ever been in a grumpy mood and then seen someone with a sunny smile or a laugh and you begin to cheer up? It's infectious!

There's also a lot of truth to who you draw closer to you. If you're optimistic, you draw people with positive energy that boost you even higher. If you're sour, you draw the negative types that will just keep dragging you down.

If you're optimistic, you live longer.

Part of what makes the difference between optimists and pessimists is taking responsibility for your actions. Pessimists feel like the world's against them, bad things just keep happening no matter what they do and they have no control over anything. Optimists feel that although bad things happen, the choices you make can make it easier to bear. They also see that the bad is just a small part of their whole and things will get better again. It's a rollercoaster ride but that's okay--you always go back up.

So which are you? Here is the quiz.