A person struggling with pessimism must learn not to give up in the face of difficulties or when things don't go as planned. We must learn to look for alternatives to overcome the problems.
Last update: February 04, 2022
Seeing the world tinged with gray, thinking that those around us are conspiring against us, giving great weight to negative emotions, finding difficulties in everything and believing that even small problems are insurmountable. In these cases it is useful to know how to fight the pessimism that has taken over of our life.
No pessimist has ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to unknown lands, or opened new doors to the human spirit.
-Helen Keller-
One becomes pessimist, one is not born
Some people think they are pessimistic "by nature", but they are wrong. No one is born a pessimist, it is life that teaches us to be. As we accumulate frustrations and hard-to-accept experiences, we "learn to be pessimistic."
Pessimism is an attitude that offers us no benefitindeed, it makes us fall into a labyrinth with no way out. It can lead us to live in a vicious circle from which we may not be able to escape.
Our thoughts and attitudes have a powerful influence on everything we do. We cannot sit idly by waiting for solutions to arrive or put all our trust in chance so that luck crosses our path.
Change your attitude to fight pessimism
Pessimistic people believe it's not worth fighting for, because whatever they do, nothing will change. They take refuge in passivity and despair. In other words, they always see the glass as half empty.
But we can remedy this feeling. Changing our attitude towards life is in our hands. Anyone who proposes it again can take the reins and bet on a more optimistic outlook, which will influence their mood and reward satisfactorily in everyday life.
Fighting pessimism means changing habits that lead us to focus on negative thoughts and emotions.
Rethinking what makes us feel this way will be the first step that we will have to do to refocus our attitude towards life. Many times it is a question of discovering that pessimism is an inherited attitude, perhaps due to the education received by the family.
The next step is to realize that we can transform this habit and change the inertia of negative thinking. To achieve our goal, we must try to be more optimistic and enjoy the happy moments so that we can live life in a less traumatic way.
Is the future that awaits us really gray?
We invite you to sit down and reflect on this belief. Is it based on a solid foundation or is it just an idea that comes to mind? It is common for a pessimistic person to always see the future dramatically, but in most cases it is due to fear.
Things won't always go our way, but it's just a passing situation.
We have to change the chip, turn our negative thoughts into more constructive and positive thoughts. We need to analyze what feelings are causing us discomfort and lead us to those negative thoughts and decide to change them for a more adequate response to the problem or reality.
An example that can be very illustrative: instead of thinking "I will not pass the exam", let's replace it with "I have studied a lot and I will do everything to pass the exam".
Fighting pessimism is possible
A person struggling with pessimism must learn not to give up in the face of difficulties or when things don't go as planned. We must learn to look for alternatives to overcome the problems.
It is important to internalize the maxim that "you learn from everything, even from negative experiences". The secret is accept defeat without feeling guilty or frustrated.
