Pessimism

The half a glass of water helps illustrates of two different mental attitudes, optimism (half full) and pessimism (half empty)

Pessimism is a human mindset, which tends to only see the negative things in life. A pessimistic person will tend to expect and assume the worst, having a "glass half-empty" personality. Pessimism is very often the cause of depression.

However, a small amount of pessimism can be beneficial, such as avoiding scams with the "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is" adage.

See also

• Fear of failure
• Limiting beliefs

Opposite:

• Optimism
• Optimism bias

External links

• Signs of Pessimism and How to Respond by Elizabeth Scott, PhD, VeryWellMind.com
• Pessimism, Britannica