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A pessimist sees the negative and expects the worst

• Pessimism: A tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen. Oxford Dictionary
• Pessimism: An inclination to emphasize adverse aspects, conditions, and possibilities or to expect the worst possible outcome. Merriam Webster
• Pessimism: The tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions, problems, etc.  Dictionary.com
• An optimist expects his dreams to come true; a pessimist expects his nightmares to. Laurence J. Peter
• The optimist sees the donut, the pessimist sees the hole. Oscar Wilde
• The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose. Kahlil Gibran
• Optimism,  Negativity,  Perception,  Positive thinking,  Attitude,  Unhappiness,  Despair

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A pessimist emphasizes the evil rather than the good

• Pessimism: The doctrine that the existing world is the worst of all possible worlds, or that all things naturally tend to evil. Dictionary.com
• The world we live in is a world of mingled good and evil. Whether it is chiefly good or chiefly bad depends on how we take it. To look at the world in such a way as to emphasize the evil is the art of pessimism. To look at it in such a way as to bring out the good, and throw the evil into the background, is the art of optimism. The facts are the same in either case. It is simply a question of perspective and emphasis. William Dewitt Hyde
• Pessimist: One who, when he has the choice of two evils, chooses both. Oscar Wilde
• The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true. James Branch Cabell
• Evil

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A pessimist sees difficulty in the midst of opportunity

• A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties. Harry Truman
• The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Winston Churchill
• The pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities; an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties. Reginald B. Mansell
• A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks.
• Opportunist someone who sees the opportunity in every catastrophe; a pessimist is someone who sees the catastrophe in every opportunity.
• Opportunity

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The optimist versus the pessimist

• The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. William Arthur Ward
• When you have vision, it affects your attitude. Your attitude is optimistic rather than pessimistic. Charles R. Swindoll
• A pessimist is a man who thinks all women are bad. An optimist is one who hopes they are. Chauncey Depew
• Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute. G. B. Stern
• The optimist sees the donut, the pessimist sees the hole. Oscar Wilde
• A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn’t see the clouds at all – he’s walking on them. Leonard Louis Levinson
• An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.  Bill Vaughan
• An optimist is merely an ex-pessimist with his pockets full of money, his digestion in good condition, and his wife in the country. Helen Rowland
• Are you optimistic or pessimistic? How does this impact your happiness?
• The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose. Kahlil Gibran
• The pessimist sees only the tunnel; the optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel; the realist sees the tunnel and the light – and the next tunnel. Sydney J. Harris
• Optimism

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Pessimism can be self-fulfilling

• I don’t believe in pessimism. If something doesn’t come up the way you want, forge ahead. If you think it’s going to rain, it will. Clint Eastwood
• There is a basic law that like attracts like. Negative thinking definitely attracts negative results. Conversely, if a person habitually thinks optimistically and hopefully, his positive thinking sets in motion creative forces – and success, instead of eluding him, flows toward him. Norman Vincent Peale
• If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet. Isaac Bashevis Singer

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A pessimist usually sees reasons not to try and therefore, rarely achieves much

• Pessimism never won any battle. Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Pessimism is an excuse for not trying and a guarantee to a personal failure. Bill Clinton
• No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to unchartered land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit. Helen Keller
• I’ve never seen a monument erected for a pessimist. Paul Harvey
• I doubt anyone will ever see — anywhere — a memorial to a pessimist.
• Achievement

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A pessimist fails to see or capitalize on possibility

• You’ll surprise yourself. Optimism is by nature expansive—it opens door after door to what’s possible. Pessimism is just the opposite—it is constrictive. It shuts the door on possibility. If you really want to open up your life and motivate yourself to succeed, become an optimistic thinker. Steve Chandler
• I am neither an optimist nor pessimist, but a possibilist. Max Lerner
• An optimist is a person who sees only the lights in the picture, whereas a pessimist sees only the shadows. An idealist, however, is one who sees the light and the shadows, but in addition sees something else: the possibility of changing the picture, of making the lights prevail over the shadows. Felix Adler
• Possibility

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A pessimist sees problems as permanent, all pervasive and self-caused

• Whether we’re optimists or pessimists comes down to our “explanatory styles”— how we explain what’s happening in our world. There are three crucial dimensions to your explanatory style: (1.) Permanence: Is it permanent or temporary? (2.) Pervasiveness: Is it reflective of my whole life? (3.) Personalization: Am I responsible? Or outside factors?   Martin Seligman

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A pessimist often feels miserable

• A pessimist is a person who is seasick during the entire voyage of life. Zig Zigler

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Pessimism is a sign you’re getting old of heart, even if you’re young

• In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber. So long as it receives a message of beauty, hope, cheer, and courage – so long are you young.  When the wires are all down and our heart is covered with the snow of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then, and only then, are you grown old.  Douglas MacArthur
• There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist. Mark Twain
• The man who is a pessimist before forty-eight knows too much; if he is an optimist after it he knows too little. Mark Twain
• The most prolific period of pessimism comes at twenty-one, or thereabouts, when the first attempt is made to translate dreams into reality. Heywood C. Broun
• Stay young at heart

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Some argue there are merits to being a pessimist

• The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. George Will
• Seeing the glass as half empty is more positive than seeing it as half full. Through such a lens the only choice is to pour more. That is righteous pessimism. Criss Jami
• A pessimist is never disappointed. Jack Cleary
• Pessimism is, in brief, playing the sure game. You cannot lose at it; you may gain. It is the only view of life in which you can never be disappointed. Having reckoned what to do in the worst possible circumstances, when better arise, as they may, life becomes child’s play. Thomas Hardy
• Pessimism, when you get used to it, is just as agreeable as optimism. Arnold Bennett
• It is wisdom in prosperity, when all is as thou wouldn’t have it, to fear and suspect the worst. Desiderius Erasmus
• The pessimist is seldom an agitating individual. His creed breeds indifference to others, and he does not trouble himself to thrust his views upon the unconvinced. Agnes Repplier
• The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. George Will
• ‘Pessimist’ is a word used by optimists to describe someone who sees the world for what it really is.  Terry Pratchett

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Some argue it’s far better to be an optimist than a pessimist

• Don’t ever become a pessimist… a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events. Robert A. Heinlein
• Life inflicts the same setbacks and tragedies on the optimist as on the pessimist, but the optimist weathers them better. Martin Seligman
• In the long run the pessimist may be proved right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip. Daniel L. Reardon
• Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power. William James
• Optimism doesn’t wait on facts. It deals with prospects. Pessimism is a waste of time. Norman Cousins

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Some argue the answer lies in a balance between optimism and pessimism

• If pessimism is despair, optimism is cowardice and stupidity. Is there any need to choose between them? Francis Parker Yockey
• There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, “Oh, it’s hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,” and an optimist who says, “Don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out fine anyway.” Either way, nothing happens. Yvon Chouinard
• Balance

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Some argue it’s better to be a realist

• The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. William Arthur Ward
• An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight. The truly wise person is colorblind. Albert Schweitzer
• The pessimist sees only the tunnel; the optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel; the realist sees the tunnel and the light – and the next tunnel. Sydney J. Harris

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Transcend pessimism by not thinking deeply when your mood is low

• The combination of rumination and negative mood is toxic. Research shows that people who ruminate while sad or distraught are likely to feel besieged, powerless, self-critical, pessimistic, and generally negatively biased. Sonja Lyubomirsky
• Mood

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Transcend pessimism by being more cheerful

• Developing a cheerful disposition can permit an atmosphere wherein one’s spirit can be nurtured and encouraged to blossom and bear fruit. Being pessimistic and negative about our experiences will not enhance the quality of our lives. A determination to be of good cheer can help us and those around us to enjoy life more fully. Barbara W. Winder
• Cheerfulness

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Transcend pessimism by creating a vision

• When you have vision, it affects your attitude. Your attitude is optimistic rather than pessimistic. Charles R. Swindoll
• Vision

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Transcend pessimist through will and hope

• I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will. Antonio Gramsci
• To the question whether I am a pessimist or an optimist, I answer that my knowledge is pessimistic, but my willing and hoping are optimistic. Albert Schweitzer
• Hope

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A time of maximum pessimism is the best time to invest

• Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria. The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell.  John Templeton
• For forty years I’ve seen the manic-depressive cycle of investor psychology swing crazily: between fear and greed – we all know the refrain – but also between optimism and pessimism, and between credulity and skepticism. In general, following the beliefs of the herd – and swinging with the pendulum – will give you average performance in the long run and can get you killed at the extremes. Howard Marks
• The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell. John Templeton
• The most common cause of low prices is pessimism – sometimes pervasive, sometimes specific to a company or industry. We want to do business in such an environment, not because we like pessimism but because we like the prices it produces. It’s optimism that is the enemy of the rational buyer.  Warren Buffett
• The catch 22 of value investing is if you want to make an above average return, you have to be willing to buy stocks surrounded by short term pessimism and experience some pain. Robert Olstein
• Investing

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• A pessimist is a man who has been compelled to live with an optimist. Elbert Hubbard
• A pessimist is a man who looks both ways before crossing a one-way street.   Laurence J. Peter
• A pessimist is a man who thinks all women are bad; an optimist is a man who hopes they are.  Chauncey Depew
• A pessimist is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for the coffin.   Mencken
• A pessimist is a person who has had to listen to too many optimists.  Don Marquis
• A pessimist is a person who has not had enough experience to be a cynic.  Mary Pettibone Poole
• A pessimist is a person who is seasick during the entire voyage of life. Zig Zigler
• A pessimist is one who feels bad when he feels good for fear he’ll feel worse when he feels better.
• A pessimist is one who when he has a choice of two evils chooses both.  Oscar Wilde
• A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks. Oscar Wilde
• A pessimist is someone who breaks windows just to make sure they live another seven years.
• A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides and shrugs; an optimist doesn’t see the clouds at all – he’s walking on them.  Leonard L. Levinson
• A pessimist’s blood type is always B-negative.
• Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.
• An optimist believes that we live in the best world. A pessimist is afraid that it might be true.
• An optimist is merely an ex-pessimist with his pockets full of money, his digestion in good condition, and his wife in the country. Helen Rowland
• An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.  Bill Vaughan
• An optimist thinks this is the best of all worlds; a pessimist fears the same may be true.  Doug Larson
• An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist half-empty; and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be.
• Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute. B. Stern
• I don’t consider myself a pessimist; I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain and I feel soaked to the skin.  Leonard Cohen
• I guess I just prefer to see the dark side of things. The glass is always half-empty. And cracked. And I just cut my lip on it. And chipped a tooth. Janeane Garofalo
• I was born to be a pessimist. My blood type is B Negative.
• I’m not a pessimist. I’m an optometrist.
• My mum’s so pessimistic that if there was an Olympics for pessimism, she wouldn’t fancy her chances.  Nish Kumar
• My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of the pessimists.  Jean Rostand
• Opportunist: someone who sees the opportunity in every catastrophe; a pessimist is someone who sees the catastrophe in every opportunity.
• Pessimism is as American as apple pie-frozen apple pie with a slice of processed cheese. George F. Will
• Pessimism when you get used to it is just as agreeable as optimism.  Enoch Arnold Bennett
• Pessimism: A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile.  Ambrose Bierce
• Pessimist: A person who looks at a doughnut and sees nothing but the hole.
• Pessimist: someone who breaks windows just to make sure they live another seven years.
• Pessimist: Someone who burns their bridges before they get to them.
• ‘Pessimist’ is a word used by optimists to describe someone who sees the world for what it really is.  Terry Pratchett
• The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much; if he is an optimist after it he knows too little.  Mark Twain
• The man who is a pessimist before forty-eight knows too much; if he is an optimist after it he knows too little.  Mark Twain
• The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. George Will
• The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true. James Branch Cabell
• The optimist sees the donut, the pessimist sees the hole. Oscar Wilde
• There’s many a pessimist who got that way by financing an optimist.
• You’re like the pessimist who looks at his pants and thinks they’re half empty. You should be more like the optometrist who looks through his glasses and thinks they’re half full.  Christina Applegate

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