A
pessimist is a person who habitually expects the worst outcome or one who
always looks at the negative side of a situation. My father was one such
person. When he faced any problems in life he would imagine the worst case
scenario first before he moved forward to find a solution to the problem.
As a born optimist I found myself in
constant conflict with my father`s views on several issues.
I remember one such incident. Within three
years of starting my Advertising career in Mumbai I decided to move out of the chawl where my family was staying for over 26 years. When I informed my father about my decision
to move to a self-contained flat (Toilet attached!) in another suburb, he
refused to move the family with me. His argument was that as against a rent of
Rs.20/- per month he was paying for the chawl
accommodation the rent of Rs.400/- per month I was planning to pay for the flat
was way too high. According to him, if I lost my job (which was not a
government job), the whole family would be on the streets. To his credit he did
not stop me from moving into the flat but he was worried about my ability to
manage the sudden leap in expense.Such pessimists are also described as ` Munjagiridhai
Muthannas` (overcautious individuals) in Tamil. You will come across
many such people in life.
I know of a friend who has a fetish about parking
his car. Whenever he had to visit any person, event or attend a meeting, his
first worry would be about the
availability of parking space in the place he was planning to visit.“That place -- parking is a nightmare
yaar!” is a line you could hear him say often. Once I went with his family to
visit a temple located within a large compound, with reasonable parking facility.
As we were nearing the temple he saw a car parking area outside a station, at
some distance away from the temple. He decided to park the car there and made
us all walk the distance. When we reached the temple we found hardly any
vehicles in the parking lot. When I questioned his decision to park the car at
a distance his response was typical,` Suppose after reaching the temple we
had found no parking space I would have
to go hunting for a parking space in these narrow lanes wasting time and
petrol”
There are many pessimists, some of them
suffering from paranoia, who are forever harbouring negative thoughts about
something or the other making not only their own lives miserable but also the
lives of their near and dear ones.
A pessimist when he faces a problem, his first response will be a negative
expression like `Ay-Yo!` - On the
other hand an optimist will say- “Hi-Ah”,
reflecting a positive attitude towards
the challenge posed by the problem. It takes all types to make this world.
(
This article appeared in Adyar Times issue dt. 15-21st May,2016 uner
my column `Rajan` Random Reflections)
Nice article. I am also a pessimist who worries that the worst can happen but fortunately , I do not act on the worries! for example , if I have been driving to the temple like your friend, I would have been worrying no end about the parking but would have taken the chance to drive to the temple. this way, I have found that most of the worries are unfounded but that has not stopped me from worrying!.maybe it is built in the gene!
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