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Decision Making for Optimists and Pessimists

Some people see the glass half empty, and others see it half full and proceed accordingly. Interestingly enough, these people are usually married or in business together.

I am not altogether comfortable with using the words optimist and pessimist. Optimists see themselves as people who operate by faith and hope: pessimists see themselves, not as pessimists, but as realists. To the pessimist the optimist is a Pollyanna: in the eyes of the optimist, the pessimist is a cynic. I think both are often not far from the mark. Anyway, when I use the words optimist and pessimist it usually conjures up pejorative images of dreamers and cynics.

Both so-called Optimists and Pessimists are being realistic or at least potentially so. After all while all things work together for good for those who love God, each of the things that go into all things are not always good things!

So, for the sake of argument, let’s consider the Optimist as someone who thinks in terms of the best case and the Pessimist as someone who thinks in terms of the worst case. When optimists make a decision or evaluate a situation, they approach both with a best case scenario as their guiding light. When pessimists make decisions and evaluate situations, they look at both with the worst case scenario as their guiding cloud.

Optimist: There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I bet it’s the sun!
Pessimist: I see a light. It’s probably an oncoming train.

In making decisions I think we need to utilize both perspectives: What is the best and the worst possible outcome? Of course we could also add another perspective, as well: What if nothing changes? From this perspective we can then map out possible strategies that prepare us for many of the possibilities that may arise.

What if the light I see is actually the sun? What will I do then? What are the possibilities?
What if the light is an oncoming train? What will I do then? What are the possibilities?
What if the light is merely a lamp and I am still in this damn tunnel? What will I do then?