We all have different ways in which we view the world around us. Some walk with glee and motivation, inspired to take the day and it's offerings and keep an ideal viewpoint. Others, while also being inclined towards a particular goal or hobby, might view the world as being truly corrupted and in need of repair. I speak of this because I am quite cynical myself. My life being in a rut, and my formerly idealistic world view being  tarnished, I hope to succeed in my chosen career path to help those less fortunate than I, and at least make a minimal bit of difference, enough to be proud of. Not that having a particular viewpoint makes you better or worse than another, this thread is only meant to ask how you view the world around you and what mindset you have.

Are you more idealistic or cynical? Were you one formerly and happened to change your mindset over time? Thanks for sharing your beliefs, friends.

Usually I try to see the world in a positive light. This works great most of the time, helping me to get and remain on good terms with people, which of course in turn fuels the idealistic mindset.

But then there are bad days. Days when people reveal their ugly side, something bad happens in the world, whatever. Then I get more cynical and see everything as not worth the time or inconsequential.

So yeah, I don't really have one set mindset most of the time. 

Cynical. Very cynical and pessimistic. I usually only see the bad in things and I am usually right about it. I try not to do that,but sometimes,you have to put on the smoky colored glasses and not the rose colored glasses.

I feel like I'm much happier than a huge percentage of people on this website and Oldschool kinda answered the question for me. Most people who are pessimistic find themselves right about expecting the worst in things. Most people who are optimistic find themselves right often as well. I see the good in people, I give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and I encourage others and cheer on humanity.

If someone, for example, flies by me on the freeway, speeding super fast, I think, "Oh, they probably have to go to the bathroom really badly," and I don't think negative things or hope they get pulled over by the police.

I have been called relentlessly optimistic and even when all the chips are down and it looks like I can't win or I can't pull something off, I give maximum effort until it's actually declared a loss. I refuse to give up until I am completely done.

I'm idealistic. Things always work, people are generally good, and the world is fairly decent.

I find myself jumping between the two quite often, based on what the topic is xp.

Even if my life isn't the best, it has gotten considerably better and right now I have a pretty idealist viewpoint on my life. I used to be depressed with only a few times in a day where I feel happy, and now that has become the opposite. I find myself really happy everyday now, with only a few moments where I feel down ^^. So in terms of my own life right now, I'm pretty idealist.

But if you're talking about the world as a whole... then I'm pretty cynical. At least from my point of view, the world is going down the wrong path and I'm just waiting for it to collapse ><. Maybe that won't happen in my life time, but it's still pretty dark :/.

I also like making jokes that are pretty cynical at times, so there's that :p.

Well of course pessimists are "always right".
If you only look towards the darkness, when are you ever going to find the light?
I'm not either. I don't like being either. But I do find that society for some reasons thinks cynical, pessimists are "cool" for some reason.
Trust me, i'm depressed, and been for years now, but that doesn't mean i'm going to just look at the worst part of life. Being an optimist isn't something that's shallow or stupid like many people think it is.

But of course, the other part is easier. It's easy to just say "Oh everything is terrible and society sucks, so I shouldn't even try". that's easy. But what isn't easy is to say "Maybe there is some good things about life, I just need to find them, or make them". That's hard to say and do. So of course everyone chooses the other route, and become "cool" cynical people who think being pessimists about everything is cool.

Now, am I saying being a pessimist is bad? Of course not, everyone has a right to be respected, but at the same time, being an extremist is a terrible thing, and with a lot of people being extreme pessimists who blame their problems on the world instead of actually changing themselves, it's easy to see why it's the norm and considered "cool"