They say in the Middle East a pessimist is simply an optimist with experience.

Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.

Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.

As people, we're generally optimistic, no matter how disabled our lives are, and we find the humor in the darkest situations.

Even in a gleefully negative comic, there is optimism, although it's slightly hidden: It comes out through a comic character's sheer tenacity. He keeps going and trying to find some sort of fulfillment regardless of his perpetual failure record. That's a form of hope, a form of optimism. Really hokey I know, but it's true.

You know, the standard state for people is 'mildly pleasant.' Negative emotions are quite rare, and extremely positive emotions are rare. But people are mildly pleased most of the time, they're mildly tired a lot of the time, and they wish they were somewhere else a substantial part of the time - but mostly they're mildly pleased.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.

Our thoughts really do create our lives. They've done a lot of research showing if you're an optimistic, positive person you will be a healthier person than if you're a sad, depressed, negative person.

If you embrace 'positive thinking,' you are - by definition - spurning 'negative thinking.' So it's as if you were on a teeter-totter and are trying desperately to put all your weight on one side - the 'positive thinking' side.

In these times you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you awake in the morning.

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.

I have one good characteristic: I'm a pessimist, so I always imagine the worst - always. To me, the future is a black hole.

The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist fears this is true.

We exaggerate misfortune and happiness alike. We are never as bad off or as happy as we say we are.

Optimism doesn't wait on facts. It deals with prospects. Pessimism is a waste of time.

At my age it is unseemly to be pessimistic.

An optimist is a guy that has never had much experience.

Both hope and pessimism are deeply contagious. And no one is more infectious than a leader.

If you're thinking about all the possibilities of your life, there are extreme negatives, which you hope don't happen, and extreme positives, which you just aren't willing to think about because you think you'll jinx it.

Urgent optimism is the desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle, combined with the belief that we have a reasonable hope of success.

A man may be a pessimistic determinist before lunch and an optimistic believer in the will's freedom after it.

I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.

There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist.

The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.

I find, when you're an optimist, life has a funny way of looking after you.

When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science about what is happening on Earth and aren't pessimistic, you don't understand the data.

I would absolutely recommend against excessive positivity and optimism. Any positive emotion that you're infusing into a workplace needs to be grounded in reality. If it's not realistic, sincere, meaningful, and individualized, it won't do much good.

The optimist underestimates how difficult it is to achieve real change, believing that anything is possible and it's possible now. Only by confronting head-on the reality that all progress is going to be obstructed by vested interests and corrupted by human venality can we create realistic programmes that actually have a chance of success.

If you were an optimistic teen, then you'll be an optimist at 80. People's reactions to bad events are highly stable over a half century or more.

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while the pessimist sees only the red spotlight... The truly wise person is color-blind.

When you wake up every day, you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative; an optimist or a pessimist. I choose to be an optimist. It's all a matter of perspective.

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while the pessimist sees only the red spotlight... The truly wise person is color-blind.

It is so often true that whether a person carries with him an atmosphere of gloom and depression or one of confidence and courage depends on his individual outlook.

Pessimism only describes an attitude, and not facts, and hence is entirely subjective.

I tend to be pessimistic about everything: If things seem to be going good, I'm worried that it's going to end; if things are bad, then I'm worried that it's going to be permanent. It's not a very comfortable attitude to have all the time.

Optimism with some experience behind it is much more energizing than plain old experience with a certain degree of cynicism.

Optimism is a kind of heart stimulant - the digitalis of failure.

Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.

Extreme hopes are born from extreme misery.

It is the hopeful, buoyant, cheerful attitude of mind that wins. Optimism is a success builder; pessimism an achievement killer.

One has to have the courage of one's pessimism.

Hope is favorable and confident expectation; it's an expectant attitude that something good is going to happen and things will work out, no matter what situation we're facing.

With optimism, you look upon the sunny side of things. People say, 'Studs, you're an optimist.' I never said I was an optimist. I have hope because what's the alternative to hope? Despair? If you have despair, you might as well put your head in the oven.

We can choose to wake up and grumble all day and be bitter and angry and judge others and find satisfaction in others doing bad instead of good. Or we can we wake up with optimism and love and say, 'Just what is this beautiful day going to bring me?'

Optimism is the foundation of courage.

While it is important for people to see your promise you must also remember that hope is the keeper of both happiness and disappointment, the father of both progress and failure.

Minds that are ill at ease are agitated by both hope and fear.

Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

Pessimism is only the name that men of weak nerves give to wisdom.

It's easy to get negative because you get beat down. You go through a few disappointments and it's easy to stay in that negative frame of mind. Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is a whole cliche, but your attitude is going to determine how you're going to live your life.

My deepest impulses are optimistic, an attitude that seems to me as spiritually necessary and proper as it is intellectually suspect.

There are good and bad times, but our mood changes more often than our fortune.

It's a wonderful thing to be optimistic. It keeps you healthy and it keeps you resilient.

Pessimists are the people who have no hope for themselves or for others. Pessimists are also people who think the human race is beneath their notice, that they're better than other human beings.

A propensity to hope and joy is real riches; one to fear and sorrow real poverty.

Positive thinking is the notion that if you think good thoughts, things will work out well. Optimism is the feeling of thinking things will be well and be hopeful.

Positive thinking is a valuable tool that can help you overcome obstacles, deal with pain, and reach new goals.

When you have vision it affects your attitude. Your attitude is optimistic rather than pessimistic.

These days I wonder more and more why people are pessimistic when American history actually supports optimism.