Adjust the sails?

Which of the following best describes you?

1. optimist
2. pessimist
3. realist

Here’s a few words which describes each of the above – maybe they will help you identify which best describes you.

I would love to say I’m an optimist, but it definitely doesn’t describe me all the time – though It’s what I’d like to always be.

I guess many of us can think of situations and times when we’ve all tried to be optimistic, and other times when we’ve been pessimistic, and also other times when we’ve simply been realistic. I think that depending on the situation, we need to adjust our response. For example, sometimes we all need encouragement so the words of a optimist would be far greater to hear than those of a pessimist. But conversely, there are some times when even though we would prefer to hear encouraging words, we still need to hear from the pessimist, so we can prepare ourselves for the worst, and in doing so, be realistic about our options and the future.

Having said all that, being an optimist does help us lift our spirits but may give ourselves false hope, while being a pessimist can bring our mood down and make us feel all hope has gone. So maybe being a realist is the best option?

I pray I can be more of an optimist, however I realise that being realistic about situations is probably the best for me, but I would like a good does of optimism flung in with that.