Optimists vs pessimists - 6 Minute English

Quality content,as always.I need this.I've been literally reaching near the rock bottom of despair.Having listened to this, I'm going to focus on the sunny side of my life.😎　Cheers🍻

Neil: Hello. This is 6 minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil Sam: And I'm Sam Neil: We often here phrases such as 'dream big' or 'reach for the stars' which reflect an optimistic view of life. Are you an optimist, Sam ? Sam: I hope so! I try to see the positive sides of life, even when something bad happens. Neil: It sounds like you're a glass-half-full person - someone who always thinks that good things will happen. Sam: How about you, Neil ? Are you optimistic? Neil: Look, things go wrong all the time - that's a fact of life. Call me a pessimist if you like but I'm just being realistic. Sam: Hmm, It sounds like Neil is more of a glass-half-empty person, but the truth is that the age-old debate between optimism and pessimism is more complex than we think. Neil: Yes, whether you're a sunny optimist or a gloomy pessimist may be determined more by your birthplace and your age than your attitude, as we'll be finding out in this programme. Sam: Great! I've got a good feelings about this, Neil ! Neil: But first, as usual, I have a question for you, Sam. Psychologists define optimism as an attitude which overestimates the chances of good things happening to you, while underestimating the chances of bad things occuring. So what proportion of the British population, do you think, describe themselves as optimistic ? Is it: a) 20 pecent ? b) 50 percent ? or, c) 80 percent ? Sam: I'll choose the largest - 80 percent... Neil: Ok, Sam. We'll find out if your optimistic asnwer is the correct one later in the programme. Somone who probably wouldn't agree with you, though, is BBC World Service listener, Hannah. Hannah grew up in Germany before moving to the United States. She thinks Americans tend to be more optimistic than people back home in Germany, as she told BBC World Service programme CrowdScience: Hannah: Well, I think the stereotypical perceptions of Germans is that we're quite pessimistic and that kind of tends to come across as being a bit of a Debbie Downer, when in actuality, Germans just tend to be avid planners for all eventual negative eventualities as well... so that's kind of us being pessimistic but actually being cautious, as opposed to for example, what I've notice in America that a lot of people tend to be hyper-optimistic. I've always admired how Americans tend to be able to sugarcoat everything. Sam: As a stereotypical pessimist, Hannah sometimes feels like a Debbie Downer. This expression is American slang for someone who makes others feel bad by focussing on the depressing aspects of things. Neil: Americans, on the other hand, are typically seen as optimists who tend to sugarcoat things - make seem better than they really are.

I am a glass-half-full boy who are hyper-optimistic. That is because in all bad situations in life, I always sugarcoat everything and overcome all of them. Optimism is good for human, just not being like the grumpy old man called Debbie Downer-a pessimistic person who can reach the rock bottom of many problems. Just for fun!!!

I used to follow many sources to improve my English,but I was confused and worried,but now I just follow BBC Learning English and now I can evaluate my improvement,I focus on one thing at a time. Feeling good about myself and my progress.

I'm a pessimist who always think a lot on the negative side. When people talk to me, i will always take it too serious of others word although they didn't mean to hurt me.

Thank you guys all the time. I’ve learned a lots of useful expressions and words from this programme. 🥰🇰🇷🇬🇧

More one great programme. Tks Neil and Sam and BBC.

Optimist needs to listen to pessimists. Pessimists need the encouragement of optimists.

Grumpy old person. I wanna be a optimistic person always. I think It's good for everyone to be practice a optimism. I love this lesson and thanks bbc to give us a a little bit great vucabulary. Thanks.

I would like to praise BBc learning English organization's professional s

A great video. I love 6-minute English.

Thank you for your interesting video. 😊Love U BBC team & Neil & Sam 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜.

Thank BBC for lots of useful video

Thumbs up! Great stuff!

Dear BBC team , thank you for such interesting programmes! They make me happier and more optimistic ❤ I am from Russia

No doubt perfect channel

i believe GOD aalways have a solution to our work , it makes me more tolarant against problem

hello thank you so much for your Sharing English lessons to help us

Hello from Japan. Thank you for sharing this video. I think Japanese people are good at planning pessimistically and acting optimistically. I will do my best to focus on positive side.

Dope work. Thank you!