Yes, exactly. We pessimists have better chances of being successful than you optimists. That’s according to psychological research or so says the BBC in their article "Why it pays to be grumpy and bad-tempered". I know this will be hard to take in, and some of you are probably already writing that Psychology isn't even a real science, but there’s quite a few good points made in the article. The article is a biggie so I will do my best to put the main reasons as brief and concise as I can. Warning: I will sum it up as I interpreted it. I might be wrong like usual:

1- Optimistic people tend to be conformist. You are not as driven to work as hard if you are fine as it is.

2- Pessimists are more focused on discerning possible negative outcomes which helps them in decision making.

3- "Anger really prepares the body to mobilize resources". (Direct quote. Self explanatory.)

4- "Suppressing anger can lead to chronic high blood pressure", which is extremely dangerous for the heart. Showing anger is healthier. (This one has been kind of out there for a while.)

5. Negative moods makes us think that we are in a difficult situation which makes us be more "attentive, detailed and observant". Remember when Palpatine said: "I can feel your anger. It give you focus... makes you stronger." It's something like that.

6. Happy people are significantly more selfish. This one is kind of contentious. The gist of it is that... ummm... I guess I'll just quote them : “People who are feeling slightly down pay better attention to external social norms and expectations, and so they act in a fairer and just way towards others,”. Apparently.

7. Happy people are more gullible. They have a harder time thinking skeptically. (At this point im so tempted to compare console fanbases. Must... resist...)

8. "Optimism about the future may have the most ironic effects." If you just think that everything will be fine and things will somehow work out, you will not be as compelled in doing something to actually make things better.

9."By anticipating the worst, you can be prepared when it actually happens." Optimists will be taken by surprise.

Thats what I got from it, anyway. That said everything has it's exceptions. I, for example, don't consider myself successful, especially given how negative I am. Where is my cut? Negativity? Sigh. Regardless, next time someone calls you out on being negative, just tell them you enjoy living a healthier and more successful life.

I can see the logic somewhere in most of those points except 6. Being selfish and being successful go pretty much hand in hand. You have to be a bit of egocentric bastard to get to the top of the food chain so to speak.

So, you are in the "we all are competing" camp?

I'm mostly an optimist, but if I want to be pessimist, I'll just open my newspaper.

Dang, so I'm a bad guy/ doing it wrong? T_T I like being optimistic. I feel I'm able to work and focus better if I'm optimistic over pessimistic.

I'm equally optimistic and pessimistic, where does that put me?

If you are an optimist, you are likely to feel like you are succesful, because you won't be thinking about all the things in life that you have been unsuccesful with. And there will be a lot of those things, regardless of if you're an optimist or a pessimist.

Even if a pessimist achieves more on average, they are likely less satisfied with the result, so it depends on what you consider as "successful". Surely if you are satisfied and happy with what you have achieved, you are successful in the sense that matters, right?

Realistic I guess, haha.

Umm. You appear positive on the outside, but what drives you to work hard? Are you sure there aren't negative feelings driving you? Fear of rejection for example or maybe a need to be accepted and liked. Those types of feelings are embeded deep.

I am a cynical pessimist, so where does that put me.