For A Pessimist I'm Pretty Optimistic

I had once read a joke which went like this:

Pessimist: It can't get any worse than this!

Optimist(very happily): Oh yes it can!

Optimism and pessimism are a world apart. If people were to be quizzed as to which approach is better, most people would agree on optimism. The truth however is that every person is different and their approach to life is different. Pessimism and optimism are just two different approaches people adopt to deal with various complex situations in life.

I believe that every person has a little of both optimism and pessimism in them, although their ratios might vary. Frankly, extreme optimists are just delusional, they seem to see the world through rose colored goggles and refuse to take them off. Extreme pessimists, on the other hand, are just sad and hopeless as they only seem to notice the dark side of any event. I believe that optimism and pessimism have their own set of pros and cons. Hence, it is important that one use it to their advantage as per the demand of a situation. Everybody wants to progress in life. In order to progress it's important to keep moving; however, making sure that you don't go backwards is equally germane. An optimist is easily motivated if her work is applauded and praised, but she usually is not good at handling criticism. A pessimist however refuses to believe that her work is perfect; to motivate her, one has to tell her where she can rectify in order to achieve perfection.

Honestly, too much of optimism gets sickly at times. Optimists are known for there farsightedness. Maybe, eventually everything works out and neatly falls into place. But what about right now? Fracturing your leg on the night before your semester exams, what can possibly be good about that? How can anything good ever come out of a punctured Tyre when you are already running late for an important meeting? Where is the silver lining behind a woman being raped and killed? It's wrong to believe that our world is the worst of all possible worlds. But believing that it's the best is plain denial. The truth is that the world won't be a better a place unless we directly start contributing to it. I am not a psychologist, hence I do not know which is correct or which is wrong. All I know is that different circumstances require different approaches and optimism and pessimism can both be used to one's advantage.

Optimism and pessimism go hand in hand. One teaches us to dream and keeps our hopes high while the other keeps us in touch with reality. One strengthens our ambition and make us determined to achieve our goals, the other prompts us to keep a plan B just in case. Optimism and pessimism are two very different and yet very effective strategies to cope with life. After all there's nothing wrong with hanging out on cloud nine, but for goodness sake, wear a parachute!

I Am Woman

With Women’s Day just around the corner, it isn't hard to imagine what a blogging feminist would blog about! Honestly, I've never celebrated Women’s Day. I mean, if there is no Men’s Day, what is the point in keeping aside a day for women; where is the equality in that? But only last year I got to know about the existence of Men’s Day – hence, now I can celebrate global femininity without feeling biased.

I have come across lots of women who are otherwise very modern but claim that they are not feminists. I have to admit, not long ago, I was one of them too; the reason behind it being my ignorance and misinterpretation of the term “feminism”. I was under the impression that a feminist is a man-hater. I mean, if there’s a global movement demanding gender equality, doesn't that prove that women are not actually at par with men? But now I know that the reason behind my immature argument was the fact that I have always considered myself deserving of equal rights and opportunities as men because of my upbringing – I couldn't imagine the idea of being discriminated on the basis of my sex. Now I know that the reason feminism exists is because women have been oppressed by men for centuries now and a joint venture is needed to bring every woman at par with their masculine counterpart.  I am a feminist and I’m definitely not a man-hater; quite the opposite in fact!

Thanks to the combined effort of countless feminists all over the world, today men and women are treated equally everywhere – well almost! In spite of this, sexism in subtle form still exists, though mostly unintentional! Whenever a woman accomplishes something great, she is called a “female achiever”, not just an “achiever”; as if her gender is a handicap which she overcame to achieve greatness. Even today to ensure their safety, women are expected to behave in such a way so as to not attract any unnecessary attention. A boy with a regular sex life is just a boy, but when a girl does the same, she is a whore. Songs with lyrics which degrade the status of women, end up becoming party anthems. Female characters are almost always described or portrayed objectively with description of every single part of her body! If a woman isn't ready to be bound by the norms of the society, she isn't called “independent”, she’s called a slut.

Women need to embrace their originality without worrying about what society has to say about them. Society will never stop judging you. Your voice, personality and principles are all you can hold onto and make use of. Every single woman is unique and beautiful. Be in love with yourself. Being selfish once in a while is fine. Follow your heart and do not let society’s opinion of you be in your way.