Day 218: I got a D in Optimism

DAY 218: I found a quiz online the other day. I’m a sucker for quizzes – especially the ones in Cosmo (insert sarcastic tone).  If you’re interested you can go online right now at cosmopolitan.com and find out if:

• You are too good to your man (I’m a Soul Mate Seeker)
• You know when a guy likes you (I’m a Man Reading Mama)

• You are an oversharer or mysterious (I’m a Hushed Honey)

• You are obsessed with your ex (I’m a Better-Off-Without-Him Babe)

• You are too picky when it comes to guys (Fair and Balanced Babe)

• Your BFF is really on your side (Soul Sister...great now that Train song is stuck in my head...again)

To be fair I had to test them all out (I’m pretty surprised about the Man Reading Mama actually – I’m notoriously terrible at knowing when a guy likes me)…but here’s the thing…if you don’t know the answer to any of these things, you probably deep down already know the answer…you are an oversharer who is obsessed with your ex, who is your ex because you smothered him, so now you are too picky about guys because no one is as good as your ex, who by the way, is now dating your BFF which means she is NOT on your side.  But I’m not going to lie…I still like to take these for fun, to see if I can be honest and not choose all Cs because I know that is the option I want to be or to see if Cosmo quiz writers really do know me. Which they don’t because usually I have to pick between two options, so I give myself a B and ½ or a C and D…it makes for difficult scoring. Optimistic spin: None of these determine the course of my life (like some of those people who take those job tests that tell you what job you should get) and I’m scoring myself, so if I don’t like the results, I can go back and change my answers :)  Which I NEVER do…honest…

Anyway, to my point. I found a quiz online that peaked my interest. I figured I’d get a kick out taking it – to see how accurate it is. The quiz was called…Are you Optimistic? Hello - can it be more perfect??  I was slightly worried it might tell me that I’ve become an optimist since the beginning of my journey to optimism (Oh wait, isn't that the goal?). Well, apparently not…the quiz was dead on. These were my “snapshot” results (you had to pay to get the “full” report…no thanks.)

RESULTS: 64 out of 100 (I’m assuming 100 is delusionally optimistic and 0 is suicidal, so for me 64 ain’t so shabby – even if it is technically a D!!)  According to your responses, your perspective of humankind is rather cynical.  You often assume the worst of people, and will usually distrust their motives.  Instead of giving others the benefit of the doubt and accept what they say or do at face value, you take a much more self-protective stance. Unless proven otherwise, you generally refuse to believe in other people's good intentions and more often than not, will withhold your trust.  Although this perspective may protect you from being taken advantage of, you could definitely benefit from being a little more trusting. Your belief that many people are fundamentally bad can lead to a rather pessimistic outlook, that is, if you don't already have one. Unlike their less positive counterparts, optimists will at least try to find the good in even the most difficult of people, and are much more willing to place their faith in others. Although this doesn't mean that you should trust the good intentions of everyone you meet, a leap of faith every once in a while couldn't hurt.

Optimistic spin: My pessimistic perspective prevents me from falling for the telemarketers selling you magazines and the deal that is just too good to be true and it means legally, I always cover my ass. Plus, I already knew all this, which means I’m highly self aware…and I guess it’s a good thing especially if it promotes a change, which it has…hence the blog and the attempt at being optimistic which if you ask people that know me, I think has been working...slow and steady wins the race.