Pessimism Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old pessimism quotes, pessimism sayings, and pessimism proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

There are moments when everything goes well; don't be frightened, it won't last. Jules Renard
Sometimes a pessimist is only an optimist with extra information. Idries Shah
Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power. William James
Pessimism is only the name that men of weak nerves give to wisdom. Bernard DeVoto
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Oscar Wilde
We all agree that pessimism is a mark of superior intellect. John Kenneth Galbraith
A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties. Harry S. Truman
Pessimism drops the curtain on tomorrow. Robert H. Schuller
Pessimism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy; it reproduces itself by crippling our willingness to act. Howard Zinn
A pessimist is a man who looks both ways when he crosses the street. Laurence J. Peter
No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit. Helen Keller
Pessimism negates the existing world. Yet its negating is ambiguous. It can simply will decay and nothingness, but it can also renounce what exists and thus open a path for a new formation of the world. Martin Heidegger
Pessimism, when you get used to it, is just as agreeable as optimism. Arnold Bennett
Let pessimism once take hold of the mind, and life is all topsy-turvy, all vanity and vexation of spirit. There is no cure for individual or social disorder, except in forgetfulness and annihilation. Helen Keller
Pessimism of the spirit; optimism of the will. Antonio Gramsci
Pessimism has never done anything but tear down and destroy what optimism has built up. Orison Swett Marden
In the long run the pessimist may be proved right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip. Daniel L. Reardon
A pessimist is a man who has been compelled to live with an optimist. Elbert Hubbard
A pessimist is a man who thinks all women are bad. An optimist is a man who hopes they are. Chauncey Mitchell Depew
The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true. James Branch Cabell
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. George F. Will
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Winston Churchill
Pessimist: One who, when he has the choice of two evils, chooses both. Oscar Wilde
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. William Arthur Ward
Don't ever become a pessimist a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events. Robert A. Heinlein
A pessimist is a man who thinks everybody is as nasty as himself, and hates them for it. George Bernard Shaw
Pessimism: A valuable protection against quackery. John Ralston Saul
A pessimist is a man who thinks all women are bad. An optimist is one who hopes they are. Chauncey Depew
The pessimism that protests and defends itself cannot be truly said to be pessimism. Miguel de Unamuno
Sometimes pessimism or optimism gets popular, and it's contagious. Edward C. Prescott