“A
pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the
opportunity in every difficulty”.
Winston
S. Churchill
So yesterday
I touched on those without a sense of humour, you remember, those sourpusses, but
let me assure you, those lacking optimism are far worse. I will much rather be
locked up in a dungeon with a grumpy sourpuss, than with a full-blown
pessimist. I once worked with a person who was a pessimist and that was a
torturing experience. In every little thing, he identified a flaw or a setback.
His life, in fact, was one continuous hardship that outweighed every part of the goodness that life could offer. Even when his first child was born, his concern
was more about all the effort that must now go into raising that child, than in
the enjoyment that little life will bring them. That was sad; his glass was
always half empty. He was truly the embodiment of Churchill’s quote for today. William
Arthur Ward says that the optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite
possibilities; the pessimist, however, is stranded on the island of perpetual
indecision. I know that pessimism leads to weakness, while optimism leads to
power, maybe that is why Dwight Eisenhower also said that pessimism never won
any battle, because of its weakness. I cannot always proclaim that we live in
the best of all possible worlds! I also do complain at times – as mentioned
before – but I must add that my complaining stems from being a realistic
optimist, not from pessimism. You see, I think that pessimists fear that things
can actually be good. Always strive for the optimistic path, but make sure that
your optimism is always a realistic optimism.
Do you
want to sink away in hopeless pessimism?
Or
rather embrace the uplifting hopefulness of optimism?
You
know which one is the one to choose:
With
one you’ll win; with another, you’ll lose.
-------------------------------------
∞ -------------------------------------
“’n Pessimis
sien die hindernisse in elke geleentheid; ‘n optimis sien die geleenthede in elke
hindernis”.
Winston
S. Churchill
Gister het
ek geraak aan die bitterbek-suurknol mense met wie ons die planeet deel. Laat ek
egter net een ding sê: Ek word veel eerder opgesluit in ‘n kerker saam met
iemand sonder enige humor, as wat ek tyd verspil met iemand wie pessimisties is,
want hulle is veel erger. Ons HAT (woordeboek) verduidelik mooi wat ‘n pessimis
is: Iemand wat alles van die donker kant sien – ‘n donkerkyker. Ek het
dekades gelede saam met iemand gewerk wie ‘n tipiese donkerkyker was (en dalk
nog is), en dit was ‘n martelende ervaring. In elke liewe dingetjie het hy ‘n fout
gevind. Sy lewe was, inteendeel, een voortdurende ongerief vir hom en andere,
en dit het elke stukkie mooi en goed wat die lewe kon opdis, oorskadu en
versuur. Selfs met die geboorte van hul eersteling was sy kommer meer oor die
moeite wat nou moet ingaan in die grootmaak van hul kind, as wat die blydskap
was om daardie gesonde kind in die lewe te kon bring en die vreugde van ouerskap.
Dit was hartseer; sy glas was altyd half
leeg, nooit half vol nie. Hy is ‘n puik voorbeeld van Churchill se aanhaling
vir die dag.
William Arthur Ward is inderdaad
reg as hy noem dat optimiste op die skiereiland van oneindige moontlikhede leef;
pessimiste, aan die ander kant, is gestrand op ‘n eiland van ewigdurende
besluitloosheid. Ek weet dat pessimisme tot swakheid lei, en dat optimisme jou
kan bemagtig en begeester. Miskien is dit waarom Dwight Eisenhower gesê het dat
pessimisme, vanweë sy swakheid, nog nooit ‘n veldslag kon wen nie. Nou kyk, ek
kan nie verklaar dat ek in die beste van alle moontlike werelde leef nie. Ek
het dit al genoem – ek kla ook soms – maar ek voeg weereens by dat my klaery
voortspruit uit my realistiese optimisme, en nie vanuit ‘n bron van pessimism nie.
Ek dink steeds pessimiste het ‘n vrees dat dinge net dalk goed kan afloop. Ek
vra jou vandag, neem altyd die weg van die optimis, maak net seker dat jou
optimisme voortspruit vanuit ‘n realistiese optimisme.
Weet dit
gewis…
Al
probeer ek ook hoe verdraagsaam wees…
Ek het
bitter min tyd vir ‘n pessimis…
Hulle
blus alles wat positief wil wees...
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