Hi, my name is Nicole, and I am a recovering pessimist.
It’s not something I’m proud of, but ever since I can remember I have mostly looked around and saw a glass half empty kind of world. Though I would always hope good things would happen, I inevitably expected the bad.
I felt this way all through high school and college, but somewhere in the past few years I realized just how tiring it is to be a pessimist, or to be around people who are pessimists. It is draining to think your bad is always the worst thing in the world. It is draining to listen to someone complain, complain, complain. So, I began to try to alter my outlook a little bit.
I tried to look at the positives, I cut out most of the people in my life who were draining pessimists, and you know what? Life was a lot happier.
I still wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m an optimist, a consistent cheerful presence. I’m recovering, after all. Which is why after a rejection I still go through that “black moment” of why bother. But, then I remind myself that things could be worse, and I can do better, and then it’s back to the drawing board. It takes a few days of wallowing, but eventually, I’ll get there.
(This post was inspired by Ms. Lacey Devlin who always has something good and encouraging to say and I am totally in awe of that!)
Nicole Helm 
LOL I don’t see myself as an optimist but that would be nice 🙂 I say fake it ’till you make it! We all wallow a bit after our rejections but after a while you do start to enjoy some of them. I always get a thrill out of the fact that someone (especially if it’s an editor) has read my work, even if it was only the first paragraph, before they slapped an R on it 🙂
But, you are always so encouraging to everyone via your blog & commenting on my blog. And you’re right, there is a certain thrill about someone–anyone–reading what you have written!