I tend to be more of a pessimist at heart, but in a way that fits with this reading. Just because I understand that there are more powerful forces than me at play won’t stop me from trying my hardest to accomplish something. In that way, I prefer to see myself as a realist, not a pessimist. Doing something is always better than doing nothing, so even if you’re not accomplishing 100% of what you want to accomplish, getting that 50% done is better than giving up.
One thing the reading didn’t touch on that I thought fit well was the impact of perspective on expectations. I think it’s important to have realistic expectations. That does not necessarily mean optimistic or pessimistic, but rather a more frank acknowledgement of both the circumstances and our ability to change them. It is possible to understand that the situation is dire and also know that we have the agency to improve it. Having expectations from that perspective, rather than blindly optimistic or pessimistic, empowers us to work more productively towards our goals.
It is interesting your comparison of a pessimist and a realist. People often use the two interchangeablly and they are in fact two different things.
I recently read something with the point that you are making with the it’s better to do 50% of something than nothing at all if you can’t do 100% in relation to perfectionism and anxiety. The idea was basically that this is something that is difficult for someone with anxiety that considers themselves a perfectionist also to do and the concept of not doing something 100% more or less needs to be taught. That being considered, I wonder how realizing the power in the small things can work for someone that fits this description? Cause if you can’t go big, perfectly why bother going small or risk messing up what you do try?
I think your stance on realism and touching upon the fact that people need to set “realistic expectations” is important. Of course there won’t be just one person who will solve a world pandemic, but it doesn’t mean there can’t be just one person who assists in a small portion of solving a world pandemic.
I also try to be a realist. I find that if I set expectations that are too high I am disappointed but if I set what I see as realistic expectations, I am much less often disappointed. I think that it is the best way to set expectations for world events like COVID-19. If I set my expectations for getting out of isolation on June 10th then I wont be upset if we dont get out early.