Pessimism: The joy of being bleak

Yanique ZimmerMost of us go through our daily lives using positive discretion, socialising and trying to make a difference in someone’s day or just trying to be the best that we can be. We always try to think positively and have whole-hearted smiles, while trying to live on the brink of optimism. Most of those who have this optimistic mindset try and avoid negative aspects in life that might pull us into the ‘void’ that is pessimism. Pessimism is the tendency to see the worst in things and people or just expect that the worst will always happen. Though a pessimist is despised by most people because of his or her tendency to perhaps wear someone down and act as an anchor that keeps you, as a ship, stuck to the ‘ocean floor’ unable to move forward in the world and become the best you that you can be, it is not entirely bad. If anything, these people are just misunderstood. A person that either got hurt, frightened or just naturally ran into becoming a pessimist, can’t help but see the world for what it truly is. Their shared opinions and values might seem a bit off-putting or absolutely annoying to other individuals, but in actual fact, the beliefs, opinions and values of a pessimist add a strange and truly beautiful sense of purpose to life. Their bleak and sometimes abrupt realisation of how utterly miserable and pointless existence is, gives them a sense of confidence in terms of having their own voice and feeling free to share their thoughts with other people and the world. They show us what to expect in this hard, long or short life of ours and push us to live life to its fullest - enjoying even the smallest things that many take for granted. But even after all has been said, a pessimist, in the end, is just as human as any other living, breathing human organism on this good, green earth. Being a pessimist doesn’t necessarily mean that you are sad or completely mad at the world. It doesn’t mean that someone or something hurt you at one point of your life, either. It is a belief that isn’t used in all aspects of your day, week, month or year. It is a philosophy to most - one that helps you cope with the daily stresses and disappointments the universe constantly throws at us. It doesn’t mean that a pessimist isn’t happy; they just know that is impossible for one to go for 15 minutes while just smiling, and the constant joy and frolicking is pointless in the grand scheme of things. They are comfortable with people they have never met before, knowing that they cannot disappoint or emotionally upset them. Pessimism also helps us keep in mind that things will not always go our way. Thoughts like, “I might not get that promotion” or “this date will probably go terribly”, help keep our expectations low; this in turn gives us a sense of joy when those thoughts come true, and we have yet again escaped the cold, harsh touch of despair and disappointment. Pessimism on its own is beautiful. Yes it may, to most people, be stupid and meaningless to be seem so utterly sad and negative towards the world, but that’s okay. Pessimism, yet again, shows us that as important as feelings of positivity, happiness and pure comfort are, sadness, negativity and discomfort in certain aspects of things are just as important. It’s what makes us human and helps us differentiate between what is right and wrong, what we’re comfortable and uncomfortable with and what we would do to come slightly closer to what it means to truly live. The true joy in pessimism is the wisdom and understanding that comes with it. The wisdom of knowing what it truly means to live in a world constantly undergoing positive and negative changes and the understanding that though most of these changes might shape a better future, there is still the huge possibility that they won’t. The world was shaped by pessimists who knew and understood that in the future the world might not turn out the way they would have wanted it to. Wars happen, nations would fall, the world is slowly dying and humanity will eventually cease to exist; if anything, the whole thought and acceptance of this should have stopped them from trying to shape the world completely, but it didn’t because the thought of us stopping all that from happening gave them a sense of joy and purpose to all of it. We pessimists aren’t wrong for our beliefs and opinions, because in the end, that is all they are - opinions formed by individuals who want to make it in life and avoid obstacles that will inevitably destroy us. Don’t think of us pessimists as grim. The gap between what should be and what is can be filled with joy and laughter – a generous joy and laughter filled with the certainty that today will go wrong and tomorrow will probably be worse, until the worst possible thing finally happens, but that’s okay.*Yanique Zimmer can be contacted on theawesomecrew6@gmail.com

Pessimism: The joy of being bleak

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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Pessimism: The joy of being bleak

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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