Pessimism vs Optimism
Those who are pessimists, or who look at and focus on the bad, what went wrong, how life is unfair, etc. tend to primarily see those things. Generally speaking, their focus is backwards. That is, they based their expectations of the future on the bad, poor, unfair, etc. experiences of the past. They tend to want to blame anyone or anything else. By backwards looking, their focus on the bad of the past makes them expect the bad in the future.
Often their view is along these lines, "Because of X, then Y happened, so it's the fault of X and X needs to fix it." Or, "Z did this and I can't do anything about it."
It's an attitude that is essentially socialistic or communistic in nature. It demands entitlement. It places the fault on others, and expects others to change, fix, or take care of things. In a political environment it demands that the government fix things, or take care of the people, or solve all the problems.
It can also be a very self-centered attitude, focusing on what "I deserve."
If we listen to someone complain about how their many life experiences are unfair, many good people want to be sympathetic towards them. And, we may agree with that person. But we need to remember, we are not getting the full story. We are only getting the story from that person, colored by their perception and experiences. We cannot afford to let those perceptions taint our own view, because they will. Then our focus becomes more on the negative, the unfair, and all that is wrong.
The saying is "opposites attract," and with people that may be true in some cases, but the reality is sameness attracts. It's why most people are more comfortable being around others who are similar, who have similar race, ethnicity, religion, backgrounds, language. The same is true in attitude. Positives attract positives. Negatives attract negatives. A truism is "misery loves company."
This is also why those who are not cleansed from their sins could never be happy in the presence of God. Sin and uncleanness is directly opposite of the perfect righteousness and goodness of God. If opposites truly attract, then the person who lives and loves sin would be comfortable in the presence of God. But no unclean thing can be in the presence of God.
Moroni says, " Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell." (Mormon 9:4 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/morm/9.4?lang=eng#2).
On the other hand, optimists, those who look at the positive and focus on the good, tend to be more forward thinking. They know life isn't fair. They have plenty of what others might see as bad experiences, but that is not what they focus on. They see the good in the past, and look forward to the good in the future. Optimists are forward looking.
Often optimists tend to be more grateful.
Between the two, optimists also tend to demonstrate and have greater faith than pessimists. Faith is the power to act, while lack of faith makes one more susceptible to be acted upon. Faith is choice. Faith powers us to get up in the morning and look forward to the day. Faith enables us to plan and prepare for the future, even if the present isn't our ideal.
A lack of faith feeds normalcy bias. Those people who lack faith expect things to continue as they perceive them. Any change in the "normal" rocks their foundation of expectations. Some may think that believing things will continue as they are is faith, but faith is believing that things will work out no matter what happens.
Faith is looking to the good. Why do you flip a light switch if you expect there to be no light? Faith enables us to flip the switch because we expect light.
Faith is the power to act because we expect, hope for, and look forward to certain results.
For the optimist, faith powers them forward because of their expectation for the good that is coming. They know the bad exists. They know there is unfairness throughout the world. But this doesn't stop them or prevent them from acting and looking to the good.
As pessimism increases faith begins to decrease. The pessimist starts yielding their choice and power to act to be acted upon instead. The pessimist begins to believe they have no power, and thus no faith, and are entirely subject to others, which is why it is the fault of others.
Unfortunately, what the pessimist doesn't understand is while we may not be able determine the consequences of the choices and actions of others, we have the freedom to think and choose how to respond.
Some of the greatest optimists have been the prophets. President Hinckley and President Monson are excellent examples of looking to the good, the noble, and to what is right. They know the bad exists. They know there is prevailing unfairness throughout the world. But their focus is on the good, because that is what lifts people to become better.
As we progress through the days and years leading up to the Second Coming of the Lord, we need to also understand that pessimism is also a form of fear. A negative outlook focuses on the destruction, war, plagues, calamities, etc. The optimist sees these as signs.
Jesus told his disciples to "be not troubled" (Matthew 24:6). These are signs that precede his coming "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that [the Second Coming] is near, even at the doors" (Matthew 24:33), and we are told to "watch" (Matthew 24:42) and "be...ready" (Matthew 24:44).
It is my opinion that those who are lacking in faith, or who look more at the negative, include those who are "troubled," or think the "lord delayeth his coming" (Matthew 24:48).
I know I need to be careful when I share possibilities of coming trials, calamities, and tribulations. It's easy to place emphasis on these, when in reality the emphasis needs to be that these are just signs, and the signs are there to let us know the Lord's coming is soon. They are also signs for us, and others, to become prepared that Great Day of the Lord, and not just for the disasters that happen along the way.
Often their view is along these lines, "Because of X, then Y happened, so it's the fault of X and X needs to fix it." Or, "Z did this and I can't do anything about it."
It's an attitude that is essentially socialistic or communistic in nature. It demands entitlement. It places the fault on others, and expects others to change, fix, or take care of things. In a political environment it demands that the government fix things, or take care of the people, or solve all the problems.
It can also be a very self-centered attitude, focusing on what "I deserve."
If we listen to someone complain about how their many life experiences are unfair, many good people want to be sympathetic towards them. And, we may agree with that person. But we need to remember, we are not getting the full story. We are only getting the story from that person, colored by their perception and experiences. We cannot afford to let those perceptions taint our own view, because they will. Then our focus becomes more on the negative, the unfair, and all that is wrong.
The saying is "opposites attract," and with people that may be true in some cases, but the reality is sameness attracts. It's why most people are more comfortable being around others who are similar, who have similar race, ethnicity, religion, backgrounds, language. The same is true in attitude. Positives attract positives. Negatives attract negatives. A truism is "misery loves company."
This is also why those who are not cleansed from their sins could never be happy in the presence of God. Sin and uncleanness is directly opposite of the perfect righteousness and goodness of God. If opposites truly attract, then the person who lives and loves sin would be comfortable in the presence of God. But no unclean thing can be in the presence of God.
Moroni says, " Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell." (Mormon 9:4 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/morm/9.4?lang=eng#2).
On the other hand, optimists, those who look at the positive and focus on the good, tend to be more forward thinking. They know life isn't fair. They have plenty of what others might see as bad experiences, but that is not what they focus on. They see the good in the past, and look forward to the good in the future. Optimists are forward looking.
Often optimists tend to be more grateful.
Between the two, optimists also tend to demonstrate and have greater faith than pessimists. Faith is the power to act, while lack of faith makes one more susceptible to be acted upon. Faith is choice. Faith powers us to get up in the morning and look forward to the day. Faith enables us to plan and prepare for the future, even if the present isn't our ideal.
A lack of faith feeds normalcy bias. Those people who lack faith expect things to continue as they perceive them. Any change in the "normal" rocks their foundation of expectations. Some may think that believing things will continue as they are is faith, but faith is believing that things will work out no matter what happens.
Faith is looking to the good. Why do you flip a light switch if you expect there to be no light? Faith enables us to flip the switch because we expect light.
Faith is the power to act because we expect, hope for, and look forward to certain results.
For the optimist, faith powers them forward because of their expectation for the good that is coming. They know the bad exists. They know there is unfairness throughout the world. But this doesn't stop them or prevent them from acting and looking to the good.
As pessimism increases faith begins to decrease. The pessimist starts yielding their choice and power to act to be acted upon instead. The pessimist begins to believe they have no power, and thus no faith, and are entirely subject to others, which is why it is the fault of others.
Unfortunately, what the pessimist doesn't understand is while we may not be able determine the consequences of the choices and actions of others, we have the freedom to think and choose how to respond.
Some of the greatest optimists have been the prophets. President Hinckley and President Monson are excellent examples of looking to the good, the noble, and to what is right. They know the bad exists. They know there is prevailing unfairness throughout the world. But their focus is on the good, because that is what lifts people to become better.
As we progress through the days and years leading up to the Second Coming of the Lord, we need to also understand that pessimism is also a form of fear. A negative outlook focuses on the destruction, war, plagues, calamities, etc. The optimist sees these as signs.
Jesus told his disciples to "be not troubled" (Matthew 24:6). These are signs that precede his coming "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that [the Second Coming] is near, even at the doors" (Matthew 24:33), and we are told to "watch" (Matthew 24:42) and "be...ready" (Matthew 24:44).
It is my opinion that those who are lacking in faith, or who look more at the negative, include those who are "troubled," or think the "lord delayeth his coming" (Matthew 24:48).
I know I need to be careful when I share possibilities of coming trials, calamities, and tribulations. It's easy to place emphasis on these, when in reality the emphasis needs to be that these are just signs, and the signs are there to let us know the Lord's coming is soon. They are also signs for us, and others, to become prepared that Great Day of the Lord, and not just for the disasters that happen along the way.
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