Career Advice

They’re cynics. They’re gloomy. They’re sarcastic and grumpy. They focus on the worst possible outcomes. Everyone knows at least one. Heck, maybe you are one. What I’m talking about, of course, are pessimists.

When trying to differentiate between optimism and pessimism, we often hear that one sees the glass as half full and the other sees it as half empty. Let’s let the philosophers ponder that analogy along with their navel lint. I’d like to offer a more practical differentiation:

Optimists see the opportunity in every difficulty.

Pessimists see the difficulty in every opportunity.

And here’s another handy piece of information: There’s value in both viewpoints. (Hear me out.) We need to value the optimists or we’ll never move beyond the muck. But we need...