WORD FOR THE WEEK – PESSIMISM
Pessimism is defined as a belief that bad things will always happen or things will only get worse.
A person who has such a view on life is referred to as a pessimist. This is a direct contrast to optimism.
Pessimism can be a result of upbringing, previous experiences, the environment or other reasons, but whatever the cause, it leads to a life lived in constant disbelief, cynicism, fear, pain and inability to perform to one’s optimal capability due to the belief that one’s best would never be good enough.
Being a Nigerian is hard enough, choosing to be one that believes that even the minutest of things would not work out well, nor a situation with only two possible outcomes would still not be in your favor is just an unimaginable level of hardness. In the middle of no light, bad roads, low standard yet expensive cost of living, and being as “third-world” as third-world can be, yet you choose to carry the extra burden of pessimism on you? That is what I would refer to as double jeopardy.
Rather than being an out and out Pessimist, I would rather you pick what I consider to be the only benefit of pessimism; the ability to see everything that can go wrong and add an extra virtue to that by preparing for it. Just as important as knowing when to keep quiet and not be a “killjoy”. As a pessimist, you tend to walk on the side of caution a lot, and you want to get those you love and care about to do the same, even when it is not necessary.
You should learn to restrain yourself from speaking at times, move into action when necessary, don’t let your fear of failure prevent you from acting and succeeding (or failing), and don’t be a victim to “analysis paralysis”.
Constantly prepare for the worst, but just as importantly, hope for the best.
Wilson Joshua is a Video Editor, Content Creator and Creative Writer.
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