What do you guys think is most beneficial to society, being a realist or being an optimist?
Do you feel its better to focus and identify the issues and communicate them; correcting people's mistakes and tell them what is the reality and the reason for the problems? Or is it better to focus and contribute to solutions and trust that others around you are aware of the risks and that no matter what happens, what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger?
What are your opinions?
Seems like a Mass Debate topic.
Realism because if you fly higher, you'll fall farther
[QUOTE=Ott;44751163]Seems like a Mass Debate topic.
Realism because if you fly higher, you'll fall farther[/QUOTE]
Ah I see. I'm an optimist. I used to be a realist back in college because I was constantly afraid of failure; so I felt it important to focus on ways to avoid it. But as I moved into a director position at work I've learned that being an optimist is far more effective than telling people what the problems are. Because when it comes down to it, people are not stupid; they most likely understand more about the problems than you think. And believe it or not, you learn more than you can ever imagine from making mistakes than you do from avoiding them. So embrace improvement and embrace failure when it comes to you. :)
But that's just me speaking from experience.
fuck realism
~dream on~
[QUOTE=TrueNord;44751185]Ah I see. I'm an optimist. I used to be a realist back in college because I was constantly afraid of failure; so I felt it important to focus on ways to avoid it. But as I moved into a director position at work I've learned that being an optimist is far more effective than telling people what the problems are. Because when it comes down to it, people are not stupid; they most likely understand more about the problems than you think. And believe it or not, you learn more than you can ever imagine from making mistakes than you do from avoiding them. So embrace improvement and embrace failure when it comes to you. :)
But that's just me speaking from experience.[/QUOTE]
that sounds like realism to me tbh
As a realist, if the worst happens you are prepared for it, and if the best happens it is a pleasant surprise.
As an optimist you may not be prepared for the worst as it will take you by surprise, but when the best happens it will probably be below your expectations.
Realist fo' lyf
why not both? (someone had to say it)
expect the worst, hope for the best
You shouldn't just whine about the problems but actually fix them even before they have a chance to happen.
It needs both to progress
Being in the middle is the best imo. Pessimism is worse than 100% realism.
I find optimism in my pessimism. Everything sucks - even the best things. There are flaws in [I]everything[/I]. Everything can be improved. Everything can be better. Anyone who settles for the way things are is insane.
I tend to say that being a pessimist is good since every surpre is a positive surprise, but that might make me more of an optimist instead.
I'm a realist, because facts shouldn't offend people.
I am an optimist, then I get lazy because of that.
[QUOTE=Everest;44754670]I'm a realist, because facts shouldn't offend people.[/QUOTE]
"yo
ur fat
just saying lol"
I've always been a realist. I had a shitty childhood and a shitty growing up experience, so I learned not to have the, [I]"Maybe something good will happen!"[/I] mindset that ruins people's days when nothing good happens.
If you expect the worst, and the worst happens, you are neither disappointed nor impressed. If something good [I]does[/I] happen (it usually doesn't) then it's like a party in your emotions.
I am an optimist in more than just thought, if you get my drift :downs:
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Optimism + Realism :)
I'm a cynical optimist. I expect the absolute worst from everyone and everything, because then I'll only be shown correct or be positively surprised. I'm never happy with what I have, because then I wouldn't be motivated to achieve even better things. When life gives me lemons, I think of life as an asshole but never look a gift horse in the mouth.
Realism is obsessed with individual gains, and sees people as inherently in conflict with each other.
(eg. resource extraction. every dollar you make is a dollar I miss out on)
Optimism focuses on how people can actually benefit more from cooperation. So, by letting you do your thing, and with me doing my thing, we can trade products to meet our needs and be better overall. Neither of us have to invest any energy in watching our backs, cause we both trust each other.
It's a false dichotomy, really; often it can be realistic to be optimistic about something. When you always focus on how things will turn out poorly, you can miss out on a ton of opportunities to make things better. Realism = optimism, yo
[QUOTE=TrueNord;44751153]What do you guys think is most beneficial to society, being a realist or being an optimist?
Do you feel its better to focus and identify the issues and communicate them; correcting people's mistakes and tell them what is the reality and the reason for the problems? Or is it better to focus and contribute to solutions and trust that others around you are aware of the risks and that no matter what happens, what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger?
What are your opinions?[/QUOTE]
I think that giving people constructive criticism is useful, because they'll know what they need to improve. Doing so is not mutually exclusive to being able to contribute to solutions. In addition, you can also tell people what they're doing right, so they can keep doing it.
An optimist sees the world as it should be, a realist sees the world as it is, and a pessimist sees both.
Anyway, I think it depends on the situation. I don't really see how your two examples tie into realism and optimism.
Realism's great for survival and sustainability, but you'll never go beyond that without optimisim
A lot of people who I have met that have called themselves 'realists' are just pessimists deep down inside with unknowingly possessing some form of co-morbid anxiety disorder (if not the same) that causes them to be cynical rather than any self-professed meaning ("because i am smart and prepared")
i'm a pessismist for some stuff, but i like being optimistic about some things, too. getting hyped up for sequels and watching the first movie(s) in the series with friends is pretty great, for example
[editline]10th May 2014[/editline]
i also feel like if you're hyped up about going to a party or an event, even if it doesn't end up being what you expected, you'll end up doing stuff to try and have as much fun as you thought you were going to experience, while if you're a pessimist you'll just accept that it sucks and end up not doing much anyway
A little of both. Have your ideals in your head, fight for them as much as possible, but realize that compromising in order to get some of the things you want is better than refusing to compromise and getting nothing in the end.
[QUOTE=Ott;44751163]Seems like a Mass Debate topic.
Realism because if you fly higher, you'll fall farther[/QUOTE]
Or optimism because if you aim impossibly, optimistically high and fall short, at least you probably achieved much higher than you would have had you aimed for a realistic goal.
Optimism, because being optimistic usually allows one to push themselves further than they would normally. Being too much of a realist means you're prone to limiting yourself by what you perceive as realistic.
First off, there's optimism and pessimism. Realism is not letting either one of those play a factor to make you biased. And you can't just say "oh, i'll go in between and offset one optimistic view with a negative one" because Gambler's fallacy is a thing. Listening to an optimist/pessimist is not good because they are biased and listening to a neutral party isn't good either because they're too afraid to go to either side.
You need to go with your heart and what's right. If the way the pattern is going is looking good, be optimistic. If the pattern isn't adding up, be pessimistic.
A balance between the two.
Expect the worst but hope for the best.
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