Nobody can ever say "January 2021 will be awful" again

[Asrui]

Firstly I realise that those who enjoy bringng down others can say "but how do you know February, May, December wont be even worse..?" Just to nip this in the bud, I don't know that, but I do know that there are people who LOVE doom mongering and for whom the combination of lockdown restrictions and what many (not all) people consider a mentally challenging month was like a gift from above. Well I hope those people enjoyed it while it lasted, because regardless of how much you want to be able to say this precise statement again, you can never ever say those words and use them to manipulate peoples' wellbeing downwards again

"Pessimists are perpetually disappointed."

Actually, it's optimists who get disappointed.

Pessimists can only be pleasantly surprised. When you always expect the worst, anything less than that is a bonus 😁

@VettiyaIruken

"Pessimists are perpetually disappointed."

Actually, it's optimists who get disappointed.

Pessimists can only be pleasantly surprised. When you always expect the worst, anything less than that is a bonus 😁

Exactly. If you are pessimistic and expect nothing when you get something that’s not disappointing at all.

I don’t agree. An optimist expects things to turn out and spends the time running up to the event feeling hopeful and positive.
A pessimist spends the same duration feeling miserable as they expect nothing to work out or to go their way (and they will most likely tell you ALL about it as well)

Then, if things go wrong a pessimist will more than likely be wailing about how they “knew it was going to turn out like this” etc etc
Where as an optimist is more likely to bounce back and try to look for a positive if they can.

Not all pessimists ‘feel miserable’ they just lower their expectations and if it turns out-brilliant.
I think maybe you have a particular pessimist in mind @Wherediditgo?

There's also people in between called realists who weigh up the situation and use logic and common sense to come to their own expectation. Sometimes this means being fairly certain what the immediate future will be like even when it's going to be shit. These people can still be optimistic that the situation will eventually get better.

Good post @DayBath

OP has entirely inventive motives for other people's posting, and it should be taken with a large pinch of salt

I don’t agree. An optimist expects things to turn out and spends the time running up to the event feeling hopeful and positive

Agree, and one optimistic viewpoint is that the winter virus season is going to be shit, but we'lve got spring to look forward too, and there could well be marked changes by then.

But because that contains 'going to be shit' by stereotype in OP, that's doom-mongering. That's what I meant by 'entirely invented' motives.

There really isn't anything wrong with acknowledging that difficulties exist. And I don't know how this toxic 'doom monger' knee jerk is helping anything, other than by sowing division and slagging off other unnamed posters on other unspecified threads

Angua
"But because that contains 'going to be shit' by stereotype in OP, that's doom-mongering. That's what I meant by 'entirely invented' motives"

The problem I have with posts that continually look towards the possibility of a shit future is that they mostly do not acknowledge that for almost everyone, including in the current situation, there is shitness that is in the past, that has been overcome, as the shit present will also soon become the past. Clearly nobody actually KNOWS exactly what the future will be like, which allows the possibility that everything might be intolerably awful forever. It seems to me that there are a minority of people who for sport, use this possibility to manipulate and control others, as well as others who are simply vocalising fears.

And what are YOUR motivations, OP?

Unfortunately being pessimistic/doommongering is not against MN Talk Guidelines so I would recommend full use of the Hide thread/Hide Topic functions, if you feel you are being either manipulated or controlled by reading such threads.

@DumplingsAndStew

So, moving on, does anyone think February 2021 is going to be pretty awful? 😂

Better than January. There's 3 days less to exist through Days are getting lighter. Inching towards restrictions easing. Millions more vaccinations carried out.

That's better to me. Not the jolliest days of my life, but better.

Better doesn't have to be the unrealistic fantasies of suddenly snapping back to normal and jetting off on holiday that a different poster seems to suggest.

"Better" can cover a broad range of outcomes.

@BogRollBOGOF

Absolutely. February definitely has me feeling more positive.