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Question about optimism

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Nekusagi

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Do you think that surviving a difficult time allows people to better handle adversity in the future?

I ask this because I was talking with a friend recently about my past, and realized I'm hardly the same person I was a few years ago. Without going too deep into specifics, I had a huge bullying problem in middle school (crying nearly every day, it was so bad), and as a result, was extremely shy and introverted. Now I'm doing fine (at a private high school), and I'm completely optimistic, I seem to find the best in every situation, and people are always telling me that they like my unique personality. I've also noticed that in those Chicken Soup books, and on those inspirational news reports, and what not, people who've just been through a very traumatic event always say they've got this brand new, positive outlook on life (like the surfer who got her arm bitten off by a shark). My theory is that once you've been through hell, everything looks like heaven, but that's just from personal experience, and I may be wrong there.

So, any takers?
 
I agree with Evan. You learn what your strengths and weaknesses are, and you often develop strengths that you didn't have before.
 
And I agree with all of them. XD I think that something bad happening causes you to discover strengths you never knew you had, and as a result, you're more able to handle whatever the future brings. And also that going through something bad causes you to appreciate the good times more than you ever did before.
 
I will have to be the voice of dissent here, it seems. I won't delve into specifics, but a very serious and unfortunate experience I had hasn't made me any more optimistic. As a matter of fact, it has fed my pessimism. The event didn't make me stronger, nor did it help reveal an inner strength. It was merely a quagmire. What's worse, I don't appreciate the good times anymore, rather, the poor times are hyperbolically worse. I'd estimate that 90% of all tragedies end with someone gaining a new life perspective, positive or negative. My experience happens to have turned my personality to the negative. Eh, whattaya gonna do...?
 
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