Jenny (who’s a confirmed optimist) thinks I’m a pessimist
because I seem to pay more attention to bad news than good news, and I tend to
conjure up doomy scenarios.
I don’t think I’m a pessimist at all. If I pay more
attention to bad news it’s because firstly it’s more dramatic and secondly I
want to know what caused the bad news – the train crash or the botched
operation or whatever.
If I think for example that the Prime Minister isn’t up to
the job, that doesn’t strike me as pessimism but just a random opinion.
I don’t routinely think everything around me is going to end
badly. I can just as well believe something will end well. Like a house
purchase or an airline flight (I’ve never been afraid of flying).
But it’s hard not to be pessimistic when what’s happening
around the world is so dreadful. I have to search hard for genuinely positive
news.
In any case what others would call pessimistic, I just think
of as pointing out reality. Should I refrain from mentioning something because
it makes me look gloomy?
