077

[attorneyatlol]

I don't seem to use this journal for much more than getting a hold of other people or complaining about viruses anymore, but a conversation got me thinking about what it means to be positive. I know, it's a trite subject, right? 'The power of positive thinking'. It makes me think of a self-help seminar... But to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I'd ever accomplish anything if I wasn't sure I would accomplish it. I don't know how or why I developed that mindset or if it was even a conscious decision, but I'm grateful that I have. I can't imagine what would have happened if I'd given up on certain goals...

Don't get me wrong. It's not always easy, and nobody can be positive all the time, but I think it beats the alternative in a lot of cases.

I guess this is why some people have me labeled as an optimist.

Comments

[attorneyatlol]

Really.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Really. (A frightening thought, isn't it?)

[attorneyatlol]

Hm.

So where on the spectrum do you see yourself?

[samuraiprosecutor]

You don't recall? I'd label myself a realist.

[attorneyatlol]

No, I remember. I just wondered if your opinion had changed any.

[samuraiprosecutor]

My opinion has remained consistent, in spite of your best efforts. I'm afraid I've seen too much of the world to be anything else. (...Though I must admit, there have been occasions when I've envied your naïveté. It's allowed you to accomplish more than I would have believed possible.)

[attorneyatlol]

I suppose I'll take that as a compliment.

[samuraiprosecutor]

...As you wish.

[attorneyatlol]

You know, I think you're a little more optimistic than you let on.

[samuraiprosecutor]

(...Obviously, you would.)

An optimistic, rather than a realistic, assumption. I see things as they are, Wright. (And I suspect your influence is one of the sole reasons I can't claim to be a pessimist.)

[attorneyatlol]

Maybe. But do you know how many people would look at what you're trying to do with the court system and tell you it's realistically impossible?

[samuraiprosecutor]

(...Too many. Far too many.)

I'm under no delusions as to the viability of our goals. What one expects and what one is willing to work towards, regardless of the outcome, are two entirely different factors.

[attorneyatlol]

Well, maybe I am an optimist, then.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Maybe so.

[attorneyatlol]

Then I'll wear the label proudly, because together, I think we will do it. And I think you think so, too.

[samuraiprosecutor]

(If ever anyone could make me believe... God, sometimes I fear his optimism is contagious.)

I think that we'll strive for it until we can't any longer. It's more foolishness than optimism, but perhaps the end result will be the same.

[attorneyatlol]

Perhaps.

[samuraiprosecutor]

(...Damn.)

I'm not an optimist, Wright. (And if I can maintain any hold on my senses, I never will be.)

[attorneyatlol]

I didn't say you were. But I don't see any reason why a realist can't be optimistic sometimes or why an optimist can't see things realistically. In the end, I think we're all just realists with varying degrees of experiences and expectations.

[samuraiprosecutor]

(Not so blindly optimistic as he seems at times. It's a point I might be willing to concede, perhaps, if his own experiences didn't belie the theory.)

Seeing a situation optimistically and being an optimist are not synonymous. It's possible for all men to consider all possible outcomes, on an intellectual level, and even to plan accordingly...but a realist isn't (hurt) surprised when the worst one comes to pass.

[attorneyatlol]

With all due respect, Edgeworth, you don't know anything about my experiences, only what their outcomes have been.

Aren't they? That's like saying a realist isn't surprised or happy when the best one comes to pass. I don't think it's possible to be emotionally neutral like that.

[samuraiprosecutor]

(Damn this)

[Locked]

(Given said outcomes, I should think that was enough.) Point. Perhaps you viewed certain events in a more...optimistic light than I would have been capable of.

That wasn't meant as I'm sure it was taken. I'm not so foolish as to be able to believe lowered expectations can save one from disappointments.

Surprise, however, is another matter. An optimist truly believes the outcome will be favorable, despite all evidence to the contrary, and so is surprised when the best doesn't come to pass, just as a pessimist is genuinely surprised when their worst fears aren't confirmed. Realism isn't emotional neutrality, but an absence of such preset assumptions, a belief that any plausible outcome may come to pass.

[Locked]

[attorneyatlol]

Maybe you're right. Those are the textbook definitions of what optimists, pessimists, and realists are, after all. I just don't think it's as simple as that.

And maybe this just further proves my own optimism, but I think a lot of people want to believe in the best outcome... They're just afraid of being hurt.

[Locked]

[samuraiprosecutor]

(...Would you blame them, Wright?) As you said, each of us has our own experiences to draw from. They shape our views and our outlook, but motivations are inconsequential to the categories. If a man is a pessimist because life has taught him to fear being anything else, he is still a pessimist.

[Locked]

[attorneyatlol]

...No. I wouldn't blame them. You're right.