Pessimism and optimism are characteristics embedded in us, which we are born with.
While we have characteristics that we receive from birth, the way those characteristics can be influenced and directed is through the many varied social influences in our life.
The examples we see in our society—from our immediate families through friends, acquaintances, the schooling we receive, the media we consume, and the culture we participate in—all influence the expression of our characteristics.
Therefore, if we feel a problem with our inner characteristics, we need to think about everything and everyone influencing us, and what kinds of changes we should make in our surrounding social circles and in the media we consume in order to positively impact us. It is as the saying goes, “Tell me who is your friend, and I will tell you who you are.”
Also, pessimism should not be thought of as a bad quality. It is an inborn quality, and some people are naturally more pessimistic, while others are naturally more optimistic.
It is important for us to understand that we live in a globally interdependent system of nature that acts out of a balance between all positive and negative qualities, including optimism and pessimism.
Therefore, in order to reach balance with nature, we need to learn how to positively connect with other people who have different characteristics.
The resulting mutual complementarity we would develop, where we each sustain our inborn characteristics but learn how to direct them in ways beneficial to all human society, would thus “click” us all into a harmonious homeostasis with each other and nature.
Featured in Quora