Norman Cousins Quotes

No one knows enough to be a pessimist

A pessimist is a well-informed optimist.

I am not an optimist, because I am not sure that everything ends well. Nor am I a pessimist, because I am not sure that everything ends badly. I just carry hope in my heart.

I think I probably hoped for it a little bit, but I'm not an optimist. I'm a realist... or maybe even a pessimist.

I've never seen a monument erected to a pessimist.

An optimist is a guy that has never had much experience.

[A] pessimist gets nothing but pleasant surprises, an optimist nothing but unpleasant.

There's an old line that goes like this: An optimist is usually happy. And a pessimist is usually right. Maybe so. But which would you rather be, anyway?

Cynicism is a choice. Optimism is a better choice.

The the question whether I am a pessimist or an optimist, I answer that my knowledge is pessimistic, but my willing and hope are optimistic.

I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.

I've never seen a monument erected to a pessimist.

Optimism means better than reality; pessimism means worse than reality. I'm a realist.

I understand the concept of optimism. But I think with me what you get is a lack of cynicism.

By nature, I am not an optimist, though I try to act as if I am.

I can't be optimistic. I can be hopeful.

To know anything well involves a profound sensation of ignorance.

Our knowledge is a receding mirage in an expanding desert of ignorance.

People say I'm such a pessimist, but I always was. It never stopped me from doing what I had to do. I would say I'm a realist.

I'm happy to admit that I'm a hopeless optimist.

I'm a born, cautious optimist.

I am an optimist.

Always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter. Walt Disney Every decision you make is a mistake.

I'm such a fan of the glass being half full.

I'm very much a glass-is-half-full guy.