An optimist, as the popular story goes, is "the fellow who falls from a ten-story building and when he passes the fifth floor they hear him say: 'Well, so far so good!'"

The question of whether one is an optimist or pessimist pops up now and again. I consider myself a realist which people might think is a cop-out but I don't think so. I like to or rather I am compelled to see reality in its own hues instead of making it brighter or bluer than it is, though I have to admit that my tendency, given that reality itself is a matter of perspective, is more towards pessimism. If I were falling from the building I would consider myself dead at the first moment - hehe - though I suppose if I survived that would be a positively pleasant outcome for me? Would it not? I don't believe in passively waiting for an outcome though. I guess my brand of realism or pessimism is all about trying to avert the worst with action rather than letting it happen. In that sense, I see it as a productive force than the opposite.

Optimism, on the contrary, when it puts a positive spin on things no matter how they really are or when it turns a blind eye to them, seems quite toxic to me. There is these days a lot of general acknowledgement of toxic positivity but I find that in practice it is extremely difficult to resist it or to question it. Given how much of a premium society places on cheerfulness, happiness, positivity and the like, even if with no solid substance. All the bestselling self-help books no doubt point to this. Anyone trying to question these could seem like a Debbie downer or mischief-maker or disruptor or anything unsavoury you could think of. Toxic positivity to my mind is all about maintaining the status quo. Maintaining a facade that actually is conducive to happiness for some and not for others, not the people on the margins or fringes. People who are not happy in these conditions might be accused of trying to prick the balloon of positivity if they were to voice their feelings about how things really are. Though they would find it hard to even voice them in a climate where positivity is upheld for its own sake. Which is why I prefer to be in atmospheres or among people who appreciate or welcome realism/pessimism/criticism. I see disruption of fake positivity as a good thing. As something that could pave the way for actual positive things. Rather than simply adopting a mind-set of positivity because it’s easier or because one's own position is secure under the status quo.

One could put lipstick on an ill person and pretend they are well or one could face up to a true diagnosis even if it's uncomfortable. What works in the long term is anyone's guess.