--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I guess I'm a hopeful optimist, because…" description: "\"I guess I'm a hopeful optimist, because to be a pessimist is to be suicidal.\" — Peter Benchley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/peter-benchley-10002_hope_i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-t_1989094.jpg" --- # I guess I'm a hopeful optimist, because to be a pessimist… ![“I guess I'm a hopeful optimist, because to be a pessimist is to be suicidal.” quote by Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/peter-benchley-10002_hope_i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-t_1989094.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/peter-benchley-10002_hope_i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-t_1989094.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/peter-benchley-10002_hope_i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-t_1989094.jpg) > “I guess I'm a hopeful optimist, because to be a pessimist is to be suicidal.” [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Optimism is a choice that counters the destructive thoughts of pessimism, which can feel hopeless. **In simple terms:** Choosing hope over despair. Key Takeaway Adopt a hopeful mindset. Themes optimism mental health choice Mood reflective encouraging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal setbacks - health challenges - career obstacles Key Concepts cognitive bias psychology Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your optimism? - When does optimism become denial? A Different Perspective Optimism alone may not solve practical problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hopeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeful/) [Optimist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/) [Pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) [Pessimist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimist/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a serious optimist. I come from a country where you have little to be hopeful for, and so you have to always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leymah-gbowee/i-m-a-serious-optimist-i-come-from-a-country-where-you-have-little-to/) [Leymah Gbowee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leymah-gbowee/) > [“Do you know the difference between an optimist and a pessimist? A pessimist says, ‘Oh dear, things can’t possibly get any worse.’ An optimist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-galloway/do-you-know-the-difference-between-an-optimist-and-a-pessimist-a/) [Steven Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-galloway/) > [I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesslie-newbigin/i-am-neither-an-optimist-nor-a-pessimist-jesus-christ-is-risen-from/) [Lesslie Newbigin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesslie-newbigin/) > [I asked her, "Are you an optimist or a pessimist?" She looked at her watch and said, "I'm optimistic." "Then I have some bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-asked-her-are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist-she-looked-at-her/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [The difference between an optimist and a pessimist? An optimist laughs to forget, but a pessimist forgets to laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/the-difference-between-an-optimist-and-a-pessimist-an-optimist-laughs/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [I am neither an optimist nor pessimist, but a possibilist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lerner/i-am-neither-an-optimist-nor-pessimist-but-a-possibilist/) [Max Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lerner/) > [I'm neither an optimist nor a pessimist. I am a dyed-in-the-woo l possibilist! By this, I mean with an eco-mind, we see that everything's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/i-m-neither-an-optimist-nor-a-pessimist-i-am-a-dyed-in-the-woo-l/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [“Unsure of what I was. An optimist? A pessimist? Neither. A fool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/unsure-of-what-i-was-an-optimist-a-pessimist-neither-a-fool/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [There are some harsh realities about this business, and they've been beaten into my psyche. But I'm more of an optimist than a pessimist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-lauer/there-are-some-harsh-realities-about-this-business-and-they-ve-been/) [Matt Lauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-lauer/) > [Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist--while you guys were busy arguing about the glass of wine, I drank it! Sincerely, the opportunist!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-greiner/dear-optimist-pessimist-and-realist-while-you-guys-were-busy-arguing-2/) [Lori Greiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-greiner/) > [Sometimes people ask me, 'Are you an optimist or a pessimist?' It doesn't matter. Whether I have a future or not is for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/sometimes-people-ask-me-are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist-it-doesn-t/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [It is largely because the free-thinkers, as a school, have hardly made up their minds whether they want to be more optimist or more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-largely-because-the-free-thinkers-as-a-school-have-hardly-made/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist,” Lesslie Newbigin once said. “Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-chaddick/i-am-neither-an-optimist-nor-a-pessimist-lesslie-newbigin-once-said/) [Tim Chaddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-chaddick/) > [I am glad I am an optimist. The pessimist is half-licked before he starts. The optimist has won half the battle, the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-buckner/i-am-glad-i-am-an-optimist-the-pessimist-is-half-licked-before-he/) Thomas Buckner > [“The optimist and the pessimist both die in the end, but each lives is life in a completely different way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-optimist-and-the-pessimist-both-die-in-the-end-but-each-lives-is/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Peter Benchley > [If you take away the predators in the prairies and the national parks, you suddenly have an explosion of elk, and then you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/if-you-take-away-the-predators-in-the-prairies-and-the-national-parks/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [Without sharks, you take away the apex predator of the ocean, and you destroy the entire food chain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/without-sharks-you-take-away-the-apex-predator-of-the-ocean-and-you/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [Since writing JAWS, I've been lucky enough to do close to forty television shows about wildlife in the oceans, and yes, I have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/since-writing-jaws-i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-do-close-to-forty/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“Intellectually, they knew a great deal. Practically, they chose to know almost nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/intellectually-they-knew-a-great-deal-practically-they-chose-to-know/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“Come up fish. Come to Quint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/come-up-fish-come-to-quint/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [Oceanography is a terrific career because gradually we seem to be coming around to realize that we had better become as acquainted with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/oceanography-is-a-terrific-career-because-gradually-we-seem-to-be/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“He felt at once betrayed and betrayer, deceived and deceiver. He was a criminal forced into crime, an unwilling whore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/he-felt-at-once-betrayed-and-betrayer-deceived-and-deceiver-he-was-a/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [The great fish moved silently through the night water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/the-great-fish-moved-silently-through-the-night-water/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [Sharks have everything a scientist dreams of. They're beautiful―God, how beautiful they are! They're like an impossibly perfect piece of machinery. They're as graceful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/sharks-have-everything-a-scientist-dreams-of-they-re-beautiful-god/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [In a deeply tribal sense, we love our monsters, and I think that is the key to it right there. It is monsters; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/in-a-deeply-tribal-sense-we-love-our-monsters-and-i-think-that-is-the/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [There was a minor burst of macho nuttiness after 'Jaws' came out, in which people would go off in shark tournaments and come back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/there-was-a-minor-burst-of-macho-nuttiness-after-jaws-came-out-in/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [The fish was an enemy. It had come upon the community and killed two men, a woman, and a child. The people of Amity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/the-fish-was-an-enemy-it-had-come-upon-the-community-and-killed-two/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“A man dies, girl, he isn't any more, least not down here. Respect and all that crap doesn't deserve the dead; it just makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/a-man-dies-girl-he-isn-t-any-more-least-not-down-here-respect-and-all/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [The past always seems better when you look back on it than it did at the time. And the present never looks as good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/the-past-always-seems-better-when-you-look-back-on-it-than-it-did-at/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“The past always seems better when you look back on it than it did at the time. And the present never looks as good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/the-past-always-seems-better-when-you-look-back-on-it-than-it-did-at-2/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) [Explore all 64 Peter Benchley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) Simone Abou Samra > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) Im Nothing > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I guess I'm a hopeful optimist, because to be a pessimist is to be suicidal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Benchley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-to-be-a-pessimist-is-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hope" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-to-be-a-pessimist-is-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/peter-benchley-10002_hope_i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-t_1989094.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/peter-benchley-10002_hope_i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-t_1989094.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/peter-benchley-10002_hope_i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-t_1989094.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I guess I'm a hopeful optimist, because to be a pessimist is to be suicidal.” — Peter Benchley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peter Benchley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I guess I'm a hopeful optimist,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-to-be-a-pessimist-is-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/i-guess-i-m-a-hopeful-optimist-because-to-be-a-pessimist-is-to-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```