Part of the definition of a pessimist is one who sees the worst aspect of things.  Over the last 50 or so years of my life, from young adulthood to now, I have only encountered a handful of consistently pessimistic folks.

I have always been puzzled by how grounded these people are.  Intuitively, I would expect them to be persistently unhappy and depressed.  Think about the Eeyore character from the Winnie the Pooh books.

My observation of these purist pessimists is just the opposite.

Its a defense

A collegue of mine displays this constant pessimism.  Every comment is derisive and nothing is ever viewed in a positive light.  Something is wrong with everything.

It recently dawned on me this attitude is defensive.  It works as a teflon shield.  There is nothing to be invested in nor any reason to assume accountability; everything is so screwed up anyway.

While my own personal value system would make it difficult for me to adopt this approach I have come to see how  well it really works.  In fact, by questioning everything and leading the way for dissension you actually become a leader of sorts.

Not a way I personally would choose to stand out or be recognized I have come to admire the effectiveness of this approach.  I do note though it does require an organizational culture with a fairly high level of tolerance to be effective.

Which has led me to conclude one of the key reasons I don’ t run into too many folks, with this consistently pessimistic attitude,  is because most organizational environments don’t tolerate the approach and weed the individuals out.