+141 It's better to be a pessimist. That way if something goes wrong, you were expecting it so it doesn't seem that bad. And if something good happens, you're pleasantly surprised. But if you're an optimist, something good happening isn't as enjoyable because you were expecting it, and when something bad happens you feel like you got your hopes up for nothing, amirite?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

more like, keep your hopes high but your expectations low

by Anonymous 11 years ago

By that logic, it would be better to have a viewpoint towards everything as negative as possible so everything doesn't seem that bad. Not really a way to live life, in my opinion.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

No because an optimist is OPTIMISTC. They most likely won't feel let down and instead make the best of the situation.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

People say this all the time, but that's just not how it works. Optimists are generally in good moods and get stressed out less easily because they expect things to work out. Pessimists are the opposite.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I think it's better to be an optimist because of the fact that expectations often help determine the outcome of every event. If you have high expectations for something to happen, you will behave differently and make different choices than you would if you had low expectations, so it is more likely that the good outcome you were hoping for/expecting will actually occur.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Optimism isn't always expecting the best. Optimism is making the best out of every situation.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Hope for the worst and the best won't disappoint you.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Well, a pessimist would take a good outcome and turn it into something negative. An optimist takes a bad outcome and sees it as a positive learning experience. Optimist is definitely better. This coming from a pessimist.

by Anonymous 11 years ago