Why are we so pessimistic?

In the last few years, i have had an oppurtunity to meet a lot of people. Though i don't interact with them much these days, i found many of them have a negative/pessimistic view on things. Not that i am a saint, i have also been guilty of such views.
So, i am curious.

Why do we become pessimistic after a while? Is it because life is too damn upright and tough? Or is it because of money? or is it because the media makes us feel so? Almost all of the newspaper contents are downright sad - either a rape or a death or something against someone!

What do you think?

Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of NOW" and "A New Earth"wherein he describes about 'pain body' may give some clarifications regarding the general human tendency to thrive in pessimistic, languishing self-pitying thoughts.

There were some comments recently about the forum not attracting people in their 20s and 30s in sufficient number.

A global forum of this kind with diverse topic areas and global reach must be a welcome resource for people of any age.

I recently asked my children who are born and raised in USA but have been exposed to Hindu culture, and philosophy.
Their exposure to Hinduism is through formal classes and informal teaching including visits to India almost every year during their school years before they started college. They have watched silly serials like Metti Oli and others and have some idea about Hindu way of life today. Actually they are very fascinated and love to visit India anytime there is an opportunity.

They reviewed some of the posts many months ago at my request and came to the conclusion that by and large there is a sense of pessimism permeating across many topics regardless of the viewpoints expressed. We have indeed diverse viewpoints - theists, atheists and agnostics but common thread linking them seem to be sense of pessimism.

I am of course exaggerating to make home a point. It is not that bad but frequent posters may want to take note hahaha

Is this pessimism arising due to biological age of most posters?

What we need is not 'Likes of posts' but indicator of 'level of Optimism' exhibited even while debating opposing viewpoints !

What do you think. I am sure you all love to call this post itself pessimistic hahaha (by the way LOL is out - news for oldies , emoji and hahaha are the 'in thing' now to indicate laugh, according to recent survey of younger facebook users)

I think we can make this forum even better with an 'unwarranted' sense of optimism about life as to how we go about debating

praveen said:

In the last few years, i have had an oppurtunity to meet a lot of people. Though i don't interact with them much these days, i found many of them have a negative/pessimistic view on things. Not that i am a saint, i have also been guilty of such views.
So, i am curious.

Why do we become pessimistic after a while? Is it because life is too damn upright and tough? Or is it because of money? or is it because the media makes us feel so? Almost all of the newspaper contents are downright sad - either a rape or a death or something against someone!

What do you think?

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hi
i think the same......yesterday when i was watching a famous news channel in tamil.....myself and wife were discussing the

same topic abt PESSIMMISSTIC.....alll news abt rape/killing /looting/saalai mariyal.....in half an hour news.....all these things


are discussed...not a single good thing in the world....then we switched sankara tv.....not a bad story there...everything

is fine...

Praveen,

The question may sound naive, but isnt something pessimistic when seen from "a" point of view?

So, what exactly is the issue here?

Nice topic to munch on, btw...

Shri tks, it shows you are skewed. Probably. ;-)

My family too feels that, we talk too much about past and customs. After sometimes it is too predictable and boring.
Pessimism is there as the government does not change even with the change of party. A country with largest youth educated population is mired in antiquated values. Look at the Indian cinema, which might be an indication of the society in general as opposed the views expressed in this forum.
I accept that philosophy and religion even if they are boring has its importance, but that alone is not the entire universe.
Unless we break some old taboos and stop pandering to old useless practices, we as a society will not progress. If you analyze the archived posts you see that same topics are rehashed over and over again.
Why do we not use the "search" function before starting a new thread? I used to point it out, but of lately i have started to ignore it.
The "navagraha" thread has cropped up again.

praveen said:

In the last few years, i have had an oppurtunity to meet a lot of people. Though i don't interact with them much these days, i found many of them have a negative/pessimistic view on things. Not that i am a saint, i have also been guilty of such views.
So, i am curious.

Why do we become pessimistic after a while? Is it because life is too damn upright and tough? Or is it because of money? or is it because the media makes us feel so? Almost all of the newspaper contents are downright sad - either a rape or a death or something against someone!

What do you think?

Click to expand...

I do not know if there is much pessimism, but there is much anger from the citizens against the establishment, irrespective of who is in the Government. People talk ill of all our so called pillars of democracy and all institutions. Too much individualization may perhaps be one of the reasons.

About the media, the less said the better. Each media house has got alignment with some political force or another and now they are corporate driven with profits as main aim. So it is expected that they will show or carry news which improve their TRPs or readership, so there is an act of one upmanship among the media houses to carry salacious or sensational stories.

Print and electronic media are facing severe competition from social networking units like twitter, facebook etc. so to have regular readership or viewership they are probably forced to cover more of rape cases, Godmen/Godwomen cases etc.and endless prime time debating or panel discussions. You will be surprised to find the same **experts** in all the channels and on all the topics.

Media is also in a bit of turmoil because of change of government at the Centre and as they are being ejected out of their comfort zone. Communist party and Congress who were the patrons in chief of at least most of the English media both in print and electronic versions are on the downward spiral and out of power at most places, so their news through "access sources" is also curtailed.

I feel pessimism is a sign of being over cautious and totally not a risk taker.

It could have its roots in upbringing and experiences in life.

Once bitten twice shy sorts..we prefer to thread in safe waters becos that actually gives one a sense of security.

Sounds strange that pessimism gives a sense of security but try thinking like a optimist and we start to feel right away that an optimist is a person who dares to take risk..not afraid of trying and always rooted in the present.

An pessimist loves to dwell in the past cos he/she has a set known or familiar pattern in his/her mind to relive on daily basis..so anything new is shot down by him/her cos Old is Gold makes him/her feel very secure.


But from another point of view being pessimistic could also the mind's mechanism to prevent reckless behavior cos sometimes being over optimistic could endanger our lives.

So I feel the best is to strike a balance in life that is a blend of optimism and pessimism should be a safe bet.


So when someone asks us "Is the glass half full or half empty" the best reply would be is "I only see the water".

The question may sound naive, but isnt something pessimistic when seen from "a" point of view?

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Very true. It is, afterall, a point of view.

If i am told i am pessimistic, i am sure i can justify that and give a thousand reasons why i am not or why i am so.

But many times the actions and the words that one says also very clearly demonstrates the kind of "inner" view (if i may call that).

.then we switched sankara tv.....not a bad story there.

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I stopped watching the news long time.. Often i find myself watching either Adithya TV or rhymes with my son

Is this pessimism arising due to biological age of most posters?

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A possible answer, maybe? As we grow older we tend to view the world differently. We tend to think, introspect and do things. Gone are the days when we threw caution to the wind.

I do not know if there is much pessimism, but there is much anger from the citizens against the establishment, irrespective of who is in the Government.

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Anger after a point of time tends to change into two things. One where you take the law into your hands and two where you resign yourself to the fate that things are as bad as it can be and you have to carry on with your existence. The second is what becomes pessimism after a while, imo.

tks said:

There were some comments recently about the forum not attracting people in their 20s and 30s in sufficient number.......

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Good to see these posts, right Sir?

Dr.Dinesh said:

Hi everyone my name's Dineshkumar...born and brought up in chennai..i am a brahmin.I did my schooling in SAJV. I am doing my final year MBBS in chettinad.i am a stoic person..i like to combine spirituality and science together to live my life...so far it helped in...so i'm continuing still..

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LunGuang said:

Lun Gunag Introduction
Hi guys, I'm Lun Guang. I'm 22 years old. Nice to meet you guys.
Wish you all have a nice day and all the best.

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We tend to be pessimistic because we find filth, squalor, corruption, poor quality of services, over crowding roads, pollution, poor quality of education, divisive slogans on caste and language, languishing court cases with no justice in sight for millions etc etc....We tend to think that this is what India as a country is capable of....No doubt our expectations have soared sky high..The current generation is hungry for success and all round development..Obviously all these cannot be cleansed over night but where is the road map...

On a realistic scale we have progressed....We have good highways, good metro systems in large cities, we are well connected and in the midst of a mobile & internet revolution, cheap air fares...We have had a resurgent IT industry generating $ 145 Billion...All these have translated in to multiplication of wealth, we possess good flats/houses with modern gadgets even for the middle classes...Quality of life has improved...Even the bottom quartile of the population have seen a change...We do feel happy when a Sundar Pichai or a Satya Nadella head global behemoths.

What is required is a reassessment of our priorities as a country and surge ahead to reach more milestones.....We have to be at it...The problem is when we are on a path of resurgence, political agenda and sectarian consideration tries to outstrip our national agenda jeopardizing our country..We have to quell this tendency...We have to develop a single minded purpose to salvage this country and get out of the absyss

auh said:

Praveen,

The question may sound naive, but isnt something pessimistic when seen from "a" point of view?

So, what exactly is the issue here?

Nice topic to munch on, btw...

Shri tks, it shows you are skewed. Probably. ;-)

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Sri auh

I am reminded of saying used by an esteemed member here in another thread :lol:

"குற்றமுள்ள நெஞ்சம் குறுகுறுக்கும் என்பார்கள்" ;-)

Seriously, I wanted to interpret the opening post in the context of our own forum.
Optimism does not necessarily mean levels of risk taking we are capable of in my understanding,
It is about general outlook in life.

If one is a theist - Do your duty, Leave it to all to God, and therefore be optimistic. In fact optimism in life reflects the theistic belief.

If one is an atheist or agnostic then you have to rely on yourself to face up to the consequences of hidden variables in our life. So you are used to be being strong for no reason other than due to self reliance. Therefore you have to be an optimist to be true to yourself.

However, all around us we have pessimistic stories from the media because it sells.

Human beings love to hang around people (and yes even the forum) around optimistic bunch.

In US politics, Trump the womanizer, Trump the gambler is leading in Republican polls because he emanates optimism in his talk and how he works the crowd.
Obama won the first election with a simple 'Yes we can' message

Pessimists? who?

Not senior citizens in this forum.

They only project a feeling of pessimism.

In fact ,they are all having a rollicking time in this forum posting with gay abandon .

Praveenji is made extra busy reading ,moderating ,deleting half of them .

The senior members are more optimistic than most youngsters.

Only they do not boast about it.

They take all risk if needed for self preservation.

They also know how to collect freebies,enable subsidies to be paid into bank accounts,how to save on taxes, how to get maximum interest on deposits.

They live well independantly without children and in good retirement homes.

They are smart enough to take risks ,play the stock market, even enjoy the best brands of wine and good food.

They do not get pessimistic by seeing rotten serials or politicians fighting on TV. They know to switch off what is bad .

Only our members are modest . They do not boast about their hidden wealth or sterling qualities.

Pessimism is what we only project ,.

We are great optimists .It is carefully hidden . Youngsters cannot easily find out

auh said:

Shri........... it shows you are skewed. Probably. ;-)

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That was a fantastic cryptic statement. The last word made it. I enjoyed. LOL.

In regard to our governments and system of governance, I do not yet have much hope and so, naturally, my posts will reveal pessimism to some extent.

People who talk about risk-taking, positive attitudes, etc., are more often than not extremely superficial. Recently I had one more instance of this. One person who used to advise me often (though that person is much younger to me in age, these advices came with a certain sense of "authority"!) to develop positive attitudes, risk-taking mentality, enjoying the 'here & now' to the full, etc., and used to emphatically claim that this world is only for the optimists, etc., was diagnosed with cancer. That person's attitude, even the very nature has somersaulted now. As an aged person with the pessimism (or is it stoicism?) gifted by life's experiences, I have been silently watching the lamentations, etc., of that person!

I therefore think that all this talk about optimism etc., is juvenile at best and may hold good till one's going is good; once that person is face to face with a fatal disease or an equally serious personal tragedy, all the optimism evaporates in a moment and the stable residue is pessimism or, at best, stoicism!

Raji Ram said:

Good to see these posts, right Sir?

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Thanks - I am sure there are many that join and from all age groups. Extremely small number of total membership participates in terms of sharing their views or making concrete contributions to the discussions.

More than just younger people, almost anyone who have a zest for life will will be turned off by repeated overdose of pessimism , sarcasm and cynicism

What is needed - sarcastically speaking of course - is to create a 'pessimist corner' and move all those posts under that section

Pessimism and optimism of personalities could not be totally attributed to the frame of mind of a person. 50% it correlates to the past experiences of one’s own and people around them.

In life, if a person gets 2 or 3 success continuously in his ventures or in small deeds that person would turn to be an optimistic to some extent, in that area. They may be pessimistic in some other areas.
On the contrary if a person suffers 2 or 3 failures one after another, that person would become pessimistic in his approaches, in that area, till he encounters consecutive success. At the same time, he may be optimistic in certain areas.

Nobody is totally optimistic or pessimistic. Everybody is a bundle of both.

Only a very few of the population are quite optimistic or pessimistic to the core.

tks said:

What is needed - sarcastically speaking of course - is to create a 'pessimist corner' and move all those posts under that section

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Agreed..so I guess you would the honors of officiating the thread..looking forward to your first post.

We will all join you and keep the thread active.

yesmohan said:

Nobody is totally optimistic or pessimistic. Everybody is a bundle of both.

Only a very few of the population are quite optimistic or pessimistic to the core.

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Agreed..a normal human being is a combination of both as you had rightly mentioned.

Only those who are delusional are hardcore optimist or pessimist.

renuka said:

Agreed..so I guess you would the honors of officiating the thread..looking forward to your first post.

We will all join you and keep the thread active.

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Then may be we have a realistic corner also...But who will be the final arbitrator

sangom said:

I therefore think that all this talk about optimism etc., is juvenile at best and may hold good till one's going is good; once that person is face to face with a fatal disease or an equally serious personal tragedy, all the optimism evaporates in a moment and the stable residue is pessimism or, at best, stoicism!

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Very true in majority of cases! However, there is a miniscule percentage of people who have absolute faith in Divine Will and with utter positivity that every thing will ultimately pan out in their favour totally surrender to God - Ishwara Pranidhana and with Nallathu varuginum, theeyathu nerinum naan arivathu onrumay illai. unnakke baram ennakku ulla ellam anre unakku enru allithu vitten, azhiyatha guna kundre, Imavaan ptera komalamay!" verse 95, Abhirami Anthathi)
Has it not been said, "God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform!"

Lalit said:

Very true in majority of cases! However, there is a miniscule percentage of people who have absolute faith in Divine Will and with utter positivity that every thing will ultimately pan out in their favour totally surrender to God - Ishwara Pranidhana and with Nallathu varuginum, theeyathu nerinum naan arivathu onrumay illai. unnakke baram ennakku ulla ellam anre unakku enru allithu vitten, azhiyatha guna kundre, Imavaan ptera komalamay!" verse 95, Abhirami Anthathi)
Has it not been said, "God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform!"

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I have seen a very devout person who died of liver cancer. On diagnosis, his mood changed and after one or two days he started chanting the verse, "tvamEva mAtA ca pitA tvamEva...etc." For a few more days he was conscious to varying degrees but his original optimism had completely disappeared and it was more of stoicism and it is this stoicism (the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint) which I was talking about. All the so-called optimism vanishes then. Even the abhirAmi antAti verse depicts only this stoicism and not any optimism. In the end, the person lost all awareness and was probably chanting this continuously till he died after about three weeks.

The doctor said there are cases in which such liver cancer patients give vent to their suppressed anger or dislike and continuously abuse, and that too in very loud voice, till death takes over, and so we were lucky in some respects!