Characteristics of optimistic and pessimistic people

Optimism or pessimism are best understood from the comparison of those attitudes typical of each point of view. The same person can go through moments of optimism and others of greater pessimism in their own life.

However, when each human being looks with sincerity inside himself, he can also realize what is the most common trend in his life or in his present. Which are the characteristics of optimistic and pessimistic people? In Psychology-Online we tell you.

Index

1. How does an optimistic person act?
2. What does it mean to be a pessimistic person?
3. How to become an optimistic person

Optimism produces admiration since most people want to live it in practice. However, optimism is not innate but is cultivated through habits marked by perseverance. How does an optimistic person act?

1. Sense of humor

They are people who have the ability to relativize difficulties and external circumstances through a funny look that focuses on some comic aspect of reality itself. The sense of humor is a personal decision since each person can cultivate it individually.

2. See things in context

In relation to the previous point, optimistic people are also able to relativize certain circumstances because they attend to the context of what happened and observe that everything happens and nothing it remains. That is to say, what today is fully current, in just a few days will be past. Therefore, the optimists live in the present with a constructive vision.

3. Authenticity

True optimism is only effective when it is sincere. From this perspective, one of the faces characteristics of optimistic people it is that they radiate light where they are because they transmit their good energy to others through reflections, words, attitudes and their own example.

4. Realistic

Sometimes, those who live a moment of pessimism feel that optimists are far from reality in their interpretations. However the positive thinking truly effective is one that also integrates the reality of life. Optimistic people also experience difficulties and difficult times. However, they try to focus on taking care of what they can manage rather than worrying chronically. They try to generate alternatives, seek help if they need it and they do not close in on themselves.

5. Emotional well-being

Much of the well-being that optimistic people experience depends on his own attitude. In other words, this feeling of harmony is a reflection of the positive impact that happy thoughts produce on the affective plane through a kind and constructive internal dialogue. The optimist has a constructive self-image of himself and the way in which he observes himself influences the way in which he positions himself in the different spheres of his life.

Optimistic people also have moments of pessimism. And those who feel more pessimistic also have moments of optimism. For this reason, both concepts feed into each other's own experience of living. The main difference between optimism and pessimism It can be the way to approach life and the challenges that it proposes to you. What are the characteristics of people who tend to think negatively?

1. Negative view of reality

This can be observed in all fragments of time. For example, the protagonist remembers yesterday's sad situations more frequently or lives with the perception of chronic longing that prevents him from enjoying the present. In the same way, focuses more on deficiencies than in the reasons of gratitude for the present. In the same way, envision the future from the prism of insecurity. Therefore, pessimism, like optimism, shows a look at reality.

2. Frequent complaints

If on the plane of thought arise limiting beliefs who boycott the potential of that person, at the level of verbal expression the tendency to complain arises as a response of personal dissatisfaction. The complaint does not solve anything by itself, however, it seems a mantra for those who contemplate reality from the perspective of self-pity, the feeling of bad luck, the comparison with others or the afraid.

Sometimes pessimistic people conclude that they are out of luck because this is the message that they have repeated to themselves countless times.

3. They have the wrong image of themselves

Pessimistic people have a distorted view of their abilities and talents. And they often confuse the way they see themselves with the way they think they are seen by others. For example, they do not feel comfortable when they receive words of recognition because they do not really believe they deserve it. Pessimism is one of the characteristics of people with low self-esteem.

4. They compare themselves to others

Pessimistic people can lose energy in the recurring tendency to live by comparison by idealizing others and placing themselves in an inferior role.

5. Unsafety

There are so many negative thoughts that can pass through a person's mind during a single day that these beliefs are transferred to the plane of action in the form of a attitude marked by insecurity faced with new situations that produce fear.

Optimism and pessimism are not absolute concepts since every human being has negative thoughts and other happy ones. The characteristics of optimistic and pessimistic people can appear in the same individual simultaneously. So the question "it is better to be optimistic or pessimistic? "Sometimes it may not make a lot of sense.

How to have an optimistic attitude

However, if a person feels that the weight of negativity considerably exceeds the good energy of optimism, then he can commit to his own ability to initiate a process of personal change because optimism is not an exclusive privilege of those who feel this way, but a possible goal and reachable. How to become an optimistic person?

1. Just as there is no definitive limit on wisdom, there is also no upper limit on optimism. Therefore, try to value those simple actions of the day to day that you exercise with the aim of take care of yourself.
2. Decide to be optimistic. To do this, make a list of reasons why you want to achieve this mission. These reasons are an important source of your motivation. When faced with a complex situation, remember that you are free to decide how you want to respond to it. Which option compensates you the most? Choose the one that suits you best.
3. Personal growth courses. As important as vocational training is life training. And these self-awareness workshops can mark a turning point for those who run new resources and resilience skills in the context of training sessions led by experts in psychology.
4. Bring humor into your life through cinema, theater, monologues, literature and conversations with friends. The stimulus of humor sharpens your wit for the benefit of happiness.
5. Read positive psychology books and trust in the potential of those vital reflections that you can turn into a motto for your present.

If you want to change your life, start by changing your attitude.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Characteristics of optimistic and pessimistic people, we recommend that you enter our category of Personality.