In life- are you positive or negative?

[yakers]

Quite happy most of the time. Wake up singing and drives my wife and others nutz. Younger son rolls his eyas and says 'Oh no, Dad is having another happy attack'! Not sure if its genetic, I do not remember being so happy as a child but had some experiences and just 'decided' to be happy and have been so ever since.

 

[obgyn65]

1) I tend to be a negative person.

2) based on that, I am very conservative with my investments.

I was wondering this about people on this board (as opposed to some of the other boards I am a member of).

1. In general (I realize we all have our up/down days), are you a generally positive person, or a generally negative person?

2. Based on that how does that impact your thoughts about retirement and the future?

 

[deserat]

I'm positive about those things I have control over, and try not to worry about those I don't have control over. I tend to rehearse the possible outcomes of a specific actions beforehand ensuring I can 'handle' the best to the worst.

I believe one's attitude is a choice and that can affect their perspective.

Bottom line for me, life is better than death right now (as far as I know) and I'll do my best to enjoy it as much as possible.

I am semi-retired and could retire right now - my future is whatever I want it to be.

 

[Silver]

I'm a pessimist.

And I don't trust any glass to hold anything even up to halfway. And that's is on a good day...when I can find a glass.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Like Best wife ever I am Positive but a super worrier and I always plan for the worst & hope for the best .

Myself exactly! I think I am generally positive but tend to worry too much about all manner things. I waste a lot of energy this way. When I was younger, I was a definite "type B" personality...never worried about a gosh-darned thing, just lived in the moment and never a thought about what might happen, or what could happen. Maybe that was Youth, prior to the vicissitudes of life.

 

[Midpack]

Had to think about this one, I have certainly known both types. I am generally positive, but it's far more important to me to be at peace than strive for positive or negative per se.

I know that when bad things happen, they won't last forever. Most people realize this.

But I also know that good things don't last forever either. Many people spend their lives trying to prolong the good and avoid the bad. Neither is really possible.

Best to live in the present, not dwell on the past (good or bad), nor miss the present always thinking about the future. Life is now, always.

Bad things are a part of life and can't always be avoided, see these events as an opportunity to learn how to deal with them. Good things are also a part of life, but when you get too attached, you'll be disappointed when they end. There will be good times again...

There's a peace there in the middle IMO...

 

[chinaco]

As is usually the case in most of the forums topics... real life is more complex than the generalizations we often post.

I am Positive... but practical and careful.

But I admit, my outlook has changed a little from 30 years ago... I have a little more jaded than I was when I was younger.

 

[rescueme]

But I admit, my outlook has changed a little from 30 years ago... I have a little more jaded than I was when I was younger.

And knew everything? ...

 

[Walt34]

I'd say "cautiously optimistic". At the core I like to look ahead and plan on what's coming next and enjoy that. But at the same time I know that "stuff happens" so I plan on what can go wrong, plan on how to deal with that, and when the resources are in place to deal with that then, and only then, do I feel free to go do fun stuff. This can be taken too far. I haven't planned in detail on what to do for a devastating earthquake or WWIII, other than impose on relatives, but some things like that would consume so much resources that there wouldn't be anything left for fun. But I'm not lying awake at night thinking about stuff that can go wrong. And we do have earthquake insurance. Around here it's really cheap.

Essentially, Responsibilities Come First, then go play. DW not only understands that, she appreciates it. If anything she is a bit more of a worrier than I am.

When she voices a concern I offer a way to deal with it, or point out that there's really nothing we can do about it so there's no point in investing a lot of time thinking about it.

 

[ladypatriot]

I'm a realistic optimist. I wake up looking forward to each new day; for me, it's always a new beginning. But I know - perhaps more than most - how much life can hurt, and how a broken heart never really heals, no matter how much time passes.

Seven years ago, my youngest son - our 4th child - died at the age of 7. He was our "surprise" baby, born when I was 38 and DH was 46. He was born with an often fatal genetic condition, had a bone marrow transplant when he was 6 months old, and suffered long-term complications which eventually claimed him. He was the greatest blessing of my life, and I thank God every day that I was his mother. He taught me to truly live each and every day, even in the midst of great pain.

So, I know how badly life can hurt, but I won't let that knowledge rob me of the joys that come into each day.

As for our portfolio, it reflects my optimism and DH's conservatism. Our house is paid for, we have no debt, we have only one more college education to pay for (and that is fully funded by a 529), and unless a Big Ass Black Swan happens and all asset classes are wiped out, we should be fine.

 

[Pete]

Maybe you should ask the mods to change your forum name to "Mr. Sunshine".

Yes our genes, culture, and ego conspire to lead us to negative thoughts...but it gets worse.
I always thought of our minds as some limitless wonderful place. Not so. We're apparently limited to about 60,000 thoughts a day. Not too bad. But most of those thoughts are the same ones you had yesterday, and the day before... Add to that the fact we have the tendency to obsess about certain things (how do I look, do I weigh too much, when are the taxes due, I really want that new...whatever), and we find giant chunks of our limited thought being highjacked day after day toward negative (or at least not postitive)thinking.

I see that most of us in this forum call ourselves positive in nature. Maybe we're kidding ourselves or maybe it's because we found the secret. Simplicity? Frugality? Humility? Freedom?

It's not so for the masses though. Look at how much money the drug companies make, and what kind of drugs they make the most money on. Add to that illegal drugs, alcohol use, and the like...

It takes a lot of work to be happy. Glad to see so many people here think they are.

 

[sheehs1]

If I had to ask the people around me they would say I worry too much. In truth I was a naive person in my twenties....which led to having been taken advantage of by other people that one would think one could trust.
That said, I think I'm a realist. Some days are positive and some are me worrying. Although I try not to worry about the things I can not control. Instead I worry about the things I can control...such as retirement planning. My husband is not an overly optimistic person..and sometimes that drives me nuts. Because ...at some point..this girl just wants to have some fun!!

 

[vicente solano]

I am a negative person. And superstitious, in the sense that I don´t dare to think positively.....

 

[rescueme]

I am a negative person. And superstitious, in the sense that I don´t dare to think positively.....

Are you positive about that? ...

 

[vicente solano]

Are you positive about that? ...

I am negatively positive that I am a negative person. Positive.

 

[freebird5825]

"Some days are diamonds, some days are stones, Some times the hard times won't leave you alone" - John Denver

I am both positive and negative.

Positive: I start every day with a "can-do" attitude that some people find annoying. It is my natural state.
Negative: Things I have no control over can dilute my optimism. I get over it quickly.

I am blessed with a logical mind that can analyze and separate + and - events and people's attitudes into neat little compartments. It is one of my best strengths of personality.
When faced with negativity, I refuse to let the naysayers drag me down into their miserable vortexes. I can usually filter it out, and in extreme cases, just excuse myself and walk away.
I have been told that I have been a positive influence on some partially negative people I know. It gives me great pleasure to hear feedback like this.

 

[Sue J]

1) I tend to be a negative person.

2) based on that, I am very conservative with my investments.

That's funny because I'm a very positive person and I'm also very conservative with my investments. Hmmmm.

I used to think that I was a positive person because I was lucky enough to never have anything bad happen to me. Then I realized that bad things have happened and I stayed positive anyways. I think it's in my genetic code from my father who is also like this.

I also learned from him to hope for the best and plan for the worst. I may be too much of a planner but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

After about age 35 (and losing a few friends much too young) I see every morning as an opportunity for another day of life. If nothing hurts, it's all gravy.

 

[Gone4Good]

I'd probably say I lean toward the negative side, but am pretty even-keeled. I certainly see the flaws in a plan before I see the benefits, which is why I was a pretty good credit analyst before I gave it up. But at the same time, I have enough optimism about the future to stop working at 38, which is something that would terrify even the most optimistic people I know.

What gets me over the hump is that I feel I have a pretty good handle on the risks I'm taking, and what my options are for dealing with those risks. I've hedged the ones I can and have contingency plans for others. The ones I can't do anything about, I can't do anything about, so they don't worry me. After some reflection, maybe it's not optimism that got me out the door, but a feeling that I've prepared as well as I can and the benefits of living a life untethered outweigh the remaining risks.

One year in, so far so good.

 

[FIREd]

...I am primarily a negative person. I am a pessimist. This leads me to plan ahead, anticipate the kinds of things that can go wrong, and have alternatives in mind.

This describes me pretty well. I am the "what if" person who drives the optimists crazy...

 

[kombat]

I recognize that I'm inherently negative, though I often wish I weren't.

I can't help it. Whenever I hear about a "deal," my first instinct is, "too good to be true, it's a scam." Whenever I hear about someone falling on hard times, I automatically judge them. "Wonder why they couldn't be bothered to buy insurance." I view every telemarketer, MLM enthusiast, and door-to-door salesman as a scammer, just trying to weasel their way into my wallet.

It's helped me avoid getting ripped off, but I often wish I had the courage to risk putting myself out their more often, and having a little more faith in my fellow man. As it is, I just see most people as lazy, greedy liars, trying to take advantage of me.

 

[NW-Bound]

Call me bipolar, but mine fluctuates!

I generally have faith in my fellow citizens, perhaps even too much! However, I tend to be gloomy about my own fortune, even if my networth puts me in the top few percents. Yes, I am grateful, but I also worry that something bad will take my money off my grubby hand. Like a market crash...

 

[FinanceDude]

I am positive I am not negative by nature. Now if I could only get rid of all these negative $#%#%^ people around me, I would remain very positive........

 

[Westernskies]

90.0% positive.
9.5% cautiously optimistic.
.49% pessimistic.

Numbers may not equal 100% due to rounding.

 

[Andre1969]

1) I think I have enough mood swings or multiple personalities from day to day that the negative and positive probably cancel each other out and make me "net neutral", or some term like that!

2) Overall though, I'm fairly optimistic about retirement, and doing it more or less on-track. There have been, and will be, setbacks to my plan, where things don't go the way I wanted. However, sometime the unexpected happens, and in a good way, like a stock going up much more than I anticipated, or a bill coming in at less $ than I anticipated. So overall, it seems to work out in the end.

 

[accountingsucks]

Interesting topic. I'd like to say I'm positive but the reality is that I tend to be a negative person. I am very analytical so my brain is always on which means I tend to over-analyze things. However I believe that this has had a positive affect on my financial life as I am very careful in that department but I believe it has had a detrimental impact on most everything else.