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22 Jan 2016, 4:01 am

If one is a pessimistic person, does it negatively affect his ability to cope in stressful situations and as a result of this, he performed badly at his workplace?Is this true?



Jacoby
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22 Jan 2016, 4:15 am

Some situations call for pessimism, it is a good defense mechanism.

I try not to let myself get to exited and optimistic about anything, I've been crushed too many times. If you don't expect much or even something bad to happen then you can only be pleasantly surprised knowing that going into it Everything is in flux and the good is always fleeting. I've always felt there was a black cloud hovering over me and my entire family, I just assume everything in life will go to ****. I just want some comfort in my life and for some things to go my way one day, too much to ask I know.



Asterisp
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22 Jan 2016, 4:19 am

Welcome on Wrongplanet.
If you want you can introduce yourself on the subforum 'Getting to know each other'.

About your question:
It depends on the person.
Sometimes a pessimistic look on things make it easier to distance yourself from your work and certain situations. That way you could cope better with certain situations.

On the other hand a positive attitude can make it easier to see the positive side in a situation.

Most people however do not like it when a person is (too) negative about a situation and interpret the behaviour as bad performance.

So you need to consider the situation carefully.



claycarter
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22 Jan 2016, 12:45 pm

There have been studies that show what every pessimist instinctively knows - that they're more prepared to handle bad news and stressful situations than optimists, since they were already expecting things to go badly and have already made preparations accordingly.

There may be indirect effects on the pessimist's life, such as not being considered "fun to be around" by co-workers. That, I think, could cause a negative perception on the person by his peers, and would as such affect his performance. But I find that, in order for such thing to happen, we'd have to be talking about somebody almost irremediably "doom and gloom" all the time, like Marvin in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.



Edwardos
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22 Jan 2016, 12:53 pm

Jacoby wrote:
Some situations call for pessimism, it is a good defense mechanism.

I try not to let myself get to exited and optimistic about anything, I've been crushed too many times. If you don't expect much or even something bad to happen then you can only be pleasantly surprised knowing that going into it Everything is in flux and the good is always fleeting. I've always felt there was a black cloud hovering over me and my entire family, I just assume everything in life will go to ****. I just want some comfort in my life and for some things to go my way one day, too much to ask I know.


Oh my god, dude. We're the same person. :(



lostonearth35
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22 Jan 2016, 3:33 pm

My mother told me this week that someone she knew got a fortune cookie that said "Hope for the best, expect the worst". I said that was awfully realistic for a fortune cookie. She said it was if you're a pessimist.
My mother is no Pollyanna, but her general outlook on life is nearly always more positive than mine. She told me if you're always negative about everything no one will want to be around you for being such a bum-out or whatever. So whenever I'm with her I have to try not to talk about anything that will make her upset no matter what, and she tries not to say anything that could make me upset.

Of course, when we're doing things together I usually am happy for that reason, so I'm usually less negative anyway.



nick007
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22 Jan 2016, 6:41 pm

I was pessimistic when I started working but I was a very good worker cuz I always tried my best & have some workaholic tendencies. I gradually became less pessimistic as things went better for me & my depression lifted. I'm more of a realist nowadays.


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littlecatinthewindow
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25 Jan 2016, 2:47 pm

Jacoby wrote:
Some situations call for pessimism, it is a good defense mechanism.

I try not to let myself get to exited and optimistic about anything, I've been crushed too many times. If you don't expect much or even something bad to happen then you can only be pleasantly surprised knowing that going into it Everything is in flux and the good is always fleeting. I've always felt there was a black cloud hovering over me and my entire family, I just assume everything in life will go to ****. I just want some comfort in my life and for some things to go my way one day, too much to ask I know.


I'm like this as well. If I keep my hopes too high, and something goes wrong, then I can get very upset. It's happened before. However, I do not have too much of a negative view on the world, like my former boyfriend did...so I'm not completely pessimistic, just enough to not be disappointed all the time.