I'm quite a fan of concepts where both light (good/positive) and darkness (bad/negative/evil) are depending in each other and the existence both create a balance in this universe. I also a fan of the concept "In light there is darkness, and in darkness there is light". In and Yo (Yin and Yang) kindof stuff.
A positive pessimist.
So, what is a positive pessimist?. Here's my definition of it. Btw this is my personal definition, it might or might not be same as the common definition.
In Positive thinking, an individual set his mind to believe a goal can be reached. The opposite of Positive thinking is Negative thinking where the individual sets his mind that a goal cannot be reached.
Another side of Positive/Negative thinking is Optimist/Pessimist thinking.
Optimistic thinking is where and individual set his mind that nothing can go wrong when trying to reach a goal. And the opposite of Optimistic thinking is Pessimistic thinking where an individual set his mind that lots of stuff can go wrong when trying to reach a goal.
So,
A positive pessimist is an individual who set his mind to believe a goal can be reached, however, in the same time, he set his mind to believe that a lot can go wrong in the process.
This thinking style, is defensive in nature. A person who follow this thinking style usually will react to almost anything that he thinks will stop him from reaching the goal. He will expect the worst will happen, and he will expect disasters. But instead of being stopped by the possibilities of disaster, he will keep thinking and taking action to reduce the disaster possibilities.
Unlike an optimist, he will keep on raising whatever he thinks will cause failure when trying to reach a goal. Unlike a negative thinker, he still think the goal can be reached.
He may to some extend view positive optimist thinkers as people who are stuck in an illusion paradise, and negative pessimists as people who are unable to reach any goals.
A positive pessimist manipulates anxiety, fear, and worries as weapons to reach the goals. He uses the negative emotions to draw more energy for himself towards reaching the goals.
Depending on what the level of pessimism he has, his actions might appear as negative thinking to some. However, it is his way of ensuring that proper defence is in place to stop disaster from happening as Murphy's law says that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong, at the worst possible time, even if you have been prepared for it.
Are you a positive pessimist?