Are you a pessimist?

Most of us have experienced setbacks at some point in our lives. What are your thoughts on the setbacks you've experienced? The answer to that question determines whether a person is an optimist or a pessimist. We all go through rough periods in our lives, but some of us go through them more than others. However, some people appear to quickly bounce back in life and are willing to try again despite the difficulties they have faced. On the other side, there are individuals who opt to give up after only a minor hiccup.

Have you ever gone through the process of looking for a job? You went through an interview but were turned down by the interviewer or the company. What are your thoughts on this? Some people may take it personally and see it as a long-term problem, telling themselves that no one would ever hire someone like them and that they may never have the opportunity to work elsewhere. Or, even worse, someone can let this one failure influence their entire outlook on life, believing it to be a complete failure and of no benefit to anyone. Such attitude is the heart of pessimism. 

Adversity and setbacks are unavoidable in life, thus we must learn to overcome them. How are we going to do it? The first step is to learn to recognize those negative thoughts. When you acknowledge that you have the inclination to respond negatively and think about negative things, you could also learn to find alternative explanations. Consider the preceding example I gave. When you tried to apply for a job and you are rejected, is it really true that no one would hire someone like you because you are not talented enough? Perhaps you will think that you're a failure. But, what if the employer is simply looking to hire someone who is better qualified to do the job. And maybe there are other jobs out there that suit you.

One rejection does not automatically imply that you are a failure. Consider the areas of your life where you have achieved some level of achievement. Learn to disregard your more pessimistic forecasts as "catastrophic thinking"; after all, how can you know you'll never find work? There's more we can do to push negative thoughts aside.

Setting goals is another effective approach to getting negative thoughts out of your mind. Once we've decided what to prioritize, determining our goals in a variety of areas will be simple. However, we must be cautious not to set too many objectives at first. We should make an effort to come up with a goal that we are certain of achieving. If the goal is too challenging and appears impossible in a short amount of time, we may become discouraged and give up. The old saying "where there's a will, there's a way" still holds true today; once we've set our minds on our goals, we'll need the perseverance to see them through.

Dwell only on the positive. Whether we have a happy heart or a sad heart, a happy life or a sad one, is entirely up to us. When we see everything in a negative context and focus on the negative aspects of things, we will be agitated and depressed every day. However, focusing on the positive will bring us joy; even simple things can make us happy. Face your negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones!

Finally, we might relate our attitude and outlook on life to that of a gardener. Negativity and pessimism are noxious weeds that will wilt our lovely garden. We have to get rid of it on a regular basis. Moreover, if we try to sow seeds of optimism, regularly water them and fertilize them with positive feelings, we will soon reap a crop that will enrich our lives. It will also prove that one's mindset makes a difference!