Let me tell you a story
Once upon a time, there was a small village, which had one of the pathways go disappear into a thick forest.
No one had taken that route. And based on some past writings, there was a strong belief that there is some cave that had one past Zamindar’s treasure.
One day, the elder son wanted to go into the forest to see if that belief is true or not.
The father stopped him and told, ‘Don’t go. There are tigers inside. They will kill you.’
The son replied, ‘Don’t be so negative. Because of pessimists like you, no one could harvest that so far. Don’t stop me. Death will never come near a brave person.’
He went inside.
But he never came back.
The tigers hunted him and ripped him into pieces.
The younger son however believed his father. He didn’t go into the forest.
People ridiculed him that he is not as brave as his brother. Yet didn’t budge.
Years later, with all his accumulated savings, he got a car on rent, firearms and signal flares, hired a few hunters and got inside the forest.
They located the cave finally amid the tiger population.
He came back and spent that evening charting out a successful plan to bring it out of the forest without getting hurt by the tigers. The moral of the story is—
- Not all optimism is good.
- Not all pessimism is bad.
Optimism and taking risks are often overrated, and playing safe is considered as meek.
Though it sounds good, it is not always right.
Sometimes, seeing the negative aspect of things will make you prepare for the worst, while seeing only the positive things will make you lethargic and keep you unprepared.
Pessimism gives you a realistic picture, while optimism blinds you.
This is more dangerous when it comes to certain things like open discussion on undergoing timely health checkups, focusing on insurance and investments etc.
People stealthily sweep such things under the carpet and live in denial that worse things will not happen to them and things will be all good.
And when things change, they realize that they should have thought about them earlier and taken proper measures. But by then, it would have been too later.
So, feed both the optimist and pessimist in you to have a balanced realistic thinking. The optimist invented the aeroplane.
The pessimist invented the parachute.
Both the optimists and pessimists contributed to society.
― George Bernard Shaw Feeding both the optimist and pessimist within ourselves requires a delicate balance. Embracing your inner optimist involves focusing on positive aspects, setting achievable goals, and cultivating gratitude. Acknowledge your accomplishments, no matter how small, to fuel this perspective. Simultaneously, nurturing your inner pessimist means acknowledging potential obstacles and being prepared for setbacks. Realism and caution have their place in decision-making. Striking a harmonious equilibrium between optimism and pessimism enables a more holistic and well-rounded approach to life's challenges, fostering resilience and adaptability. By listening to both voices within, you can make informed, positive choices while staying grounded in reality. THANKS FOR READING 🙂
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