Optimists vs. Pessimists
“Expect the worst, that way, if it’s bad, you’re prepared, and if anything else should happen, it’s a blessing.”
My grandmother repeated this to me throughout my life and it finally sunk in today. My grandma went in for surgery at 8am this morning (Tuesday September 24, 2013) to have a malignant tumor removed from her large intestine. She’s 82 years old and has lost upwards of 60 pounds due to this obstruction; therefore her risk of complication during surgery is high. We were told that the surgery will go one of four ways: stroke, coma, death, or no complications. The risk for the first three is high but not as high as the chance of needing a colostomy bag after. “The ‘chance’ is almost 100%”, the doctor had told us. We checked her in for surgery expecting that that goodbye would be the last and we were tearful and thankful when she came out of surgery with no complications and no colostomy bag. Relief washed over me as it finally hit me. I understood “Expect the worst”. Then I sat down to write this paper.
There are two kinds of people in this world, optimists and pessimists. I would say I’m an optimist because things always tend to work out for me. Optimists always prepare for the worst but expect the best. They find the best in any given situation and are, generally, happier people. They are kind of like a dog in the fashion that if you give a dog and an optimist a situation, they will make the best of it and have fun. Optimists can have fun in a brown paper bag. An optimist is flexible with their plans as they can have fun wherever they go. They are usually smiling and always have a kind word to say. They don’t remember things like doctors appointments and directions, and their luggage is usually a mess; as is the rest of their lives. However, they would never forget something important like a birthday or anniversary due to their romantic, cheerful nature.
Pessimists on the other hand, don’t bother with birthdays or anniversaries because, “Why bother?
My grandmother repeated this to me throughout my life and it finally sunk in today. My grandma went in for surgery at 8am this morning (Tuesday September 24, 2013) to have a malignant tumor removed from her large intestine. She’s 82 years old and has lost upwards of 60 pounds due to this obstruction; therefore her risk of complication during surgery is high. We were told that the surgery will go one of four ways: stroke, coma, death, or no complications. The risk for the first three is high but not as high as the chance of needing a colostomy bag after. “The ‘chance’ is almost 100%”, the doctor had told us. We checked her in for surgery expecting that that goodbye would be the last and we were tearful and thankful when she came out of surgery with no complications and no colostomy bag. Relief washed over me as it finally hit me. I understood “Expect the worst”. Then I sat down to write this paper.
There are two kinds of people in this world, optimists and pessimists. I would say I’m an optimist because things always tend to work out for me. Optimists always prepare for the worst but expect the best. They find the best in any given situation and are, generally, happier people. They are kind of like a dog in the fashion that if you give a dog and an optimist a situation, they will make the best of it and have fun. Optimists can have fun in a brown paper bag. An optimist is flexible with their plans as they can have fun wherever they go. They are usually smiling and always have a kind word to say. They don’t remember things like doctors appointments and directions, and their luggage is usually a mess; as is the rest of their lives. However, they would never forget something important like a birthday or anniversary due to their romantic, cheerful nature.
Pessimists on the other hand, don’t bother with birthdays or anniversaries because, “Why bother?