The style in which a life is led, the attitude that is carried out while jumping the hurdles that our experiences face us with are of a critical nature to the well being that we boast, and the pleasures -or pains- of what we go through. In essence, having either a positive or negative approach to each and every issue, no matter how minute, can mold that issue in either being a lovely memory, or the contrary – At least that is what this hopefully-optimistic mind thinks.

I have always been baffled by the approach of a large portion of humanity; they seem quite negative, to the point of sadness, or even anger; and as much as this piece might sound like a thought process, bear with me while I digest these issues and provide what I feel are possible reasons behind this human attitude. One reason, I feel, is the lack of a reason; some sad, negative people are just that way because that’s the way they always were – this can possibly be because of an environmental factor in their childhood or their internal hormonal breakup or such.

Another reason I feel is the existence of a previous problem; some people are that way because they were affected by something afar back and have lacked the mental capacity to deal with it – the possible examples of such problems are quite endless: personal issues, death of a loved one, national/regional issues, and the list goes on.

The most interesting reason, in my humble opinion, is the intentional pessimism by some that view their negative, or as some would claim ‘lowered expectations’, tactic as a means to greater joy, that is, if a person has lower expectations for anything that comes by in his or her life, that whatever ‘good’ comes their way will be just that much more favorable. To this attitude, I have two replies:

  1. Isn’t this attitude just an indirect form of optimism? You are, in reality, hoping for something good to come your way, and what you’re internally assuming is that once you get to the point where you will enjoy whatever pleasure does come your way, then you will get to enjoy it more. To me, that does not sound pessimistic – even if you claim to be one
  2. My second reply is of a less convincing nature, but simply aims to pose the question: would you rather spend the majority of your life in a negative tone and have a few largely happy moments, or would you rather navigate through life enjoying more moments, even with a few disappointments?

I guess you know where I stand on this…