Managing Your Emotion

Everyone is allowed to be pessimistic at some point of their lives, especially when they face tough or tragic events. I am, mostly, an optimistic person. When misfortune happens to me, sure I can be upset and depressed like a normal person will react, but soon enough I try to find out a hope or a positive side and cheer myself up by counting on it. It is quite useful and essential of being an optimist that trying to establish a habit of seeing things in a more optimistic light. Moreover, I am one of those people who see there is still half glass of water left rather than being upset by complaining that half is gone, referring to the classic test of Is the glass half-full or half-empty?

According to the required reading written by Taylor (2005), we have an overall bias towards seeing the negative, and it is a human way of preparing for risk. As such, anxiety, fear and anger are all protective mechanisms. Being completely optimistic to everything is dull and immature, it also means that people are not ready to face the possible upcoming consequences. However, true wise people will have themselves well prepared for the worst foreseeable consequences while holding the most optimistic attitude, and that is what we are expected to do when tragedies occur.

Considering myself a strategic optimist, I always prepare for the worst results while thinking of the best of them. For instance, when I applied for a master degree, I had a plan of how I am going to continue my life if I fail to be admitted, but still I keep working as hard as I can towards my goal till the time the result will come out.

I have never been a very optimistic person, because part of me cannot give up having a sense of crisis. Besides, I know that it is not right to be a complete optimist. That means somewhat people are loath to think or avoid coming up with a solution to the problem, so they prefer believing that things never go wrong. When I’m gambling, I make small bet and safer choice to...