--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's still possible to be a cockeyed…" description: "\"It's still possible to be a cockeyed optimist these days - you just have to be a little more cockeyed.\" — Robert Breault" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/robert-breault-304_littles_it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-opt_2432725.png" --- # It's still possible to be a cockeyed optimist these days… ![“It's still possible to be a cockeyed optimist these days - you just have to be a little more cockeyed.” quote by Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/robert-breault-304_littles_it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-opt_2432725.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/robert-breault-304_littles_it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-opt_2432725.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/robert-breault-304_littles_it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-opt_2432725.png) > “It's still possible to be a cockeyed optimist these days - you just have to be a little more cockeyed.” [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Optimism can persist if we intentionally tilt our perspective, even when reality feels skewed. **In simple terms:** Being optimistic requires a conscious, slightly skewed view. Key Takeaway Adopt a deliberately hopeful outlook. Themes optimism resilience mindset adaptability Mood hopeful energetic Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - workplace challenges - personal setbacks - health goals - learning new skills Key Concepts positive psychology cognitive bias behavioral change Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance hopeful optimism with realistic planning? - When does optimism become denial? A Different Perspective Over‑optimism may ignore real risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Optimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimism/) [Optimism and pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimism-and-pessimism/) [Optimist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/) ## Related quotes > [But I'm only a cockeyed optimist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-hammerstein-ii/but-i-m-only-a-cockeyed-optimist/) [Oscar Hammerstein II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-hammerstein-ii/) > [I really am a cockeyed optimist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-lawrence/i-really-am-a-cockeyed-optimist/) [Vicki Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-lawrence/) > [I'm a big cockeyed optimist. I try to accentuate the positive as opposed to the negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-white/i-m-a-big-cockeyed-optimist-i-try-to-accentuate-the-positive-as/) [Betty White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-white/) > [“One more cockeyed optimist thrown under the reality bus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-coonts/one-more-cockeyed-optimist-thrown-under-the-reality-bus/) Deborah Coonts > [An optimist is someone who figures that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's the bluebird of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/an-optimist-is-someone-who-figures-that-if-it-walks-like-a-duck-and/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [After 5,000 years of recorded human history, you wonder, what part of 2,000,000 sunrises doesn't a pessimist understand?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/after-5-000-years-of-recorded-human-history-you-wonder-what-part-of-2/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [It can be said of optimism that while sometimes mistaken, it is never sadly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/it-can-be-said-of-optimism-that-while-sometimes-mistaken-it-is-never/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [How do you tell an optimist that he or she has lived a happy life by mistake?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/how-do-you-tell-an-optimist-that-he-or-she-has-lived-a-happy-life-by/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The realist sees reality as concrete. The optimist sees reality as clay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-realist-sees-reality-as-concrete-the-optimist-sees-reality-as-clay/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“Being cocket or cockeyed is being cockamamie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/being-cocket-or-cockeyed-is-being-cockamamie/) Anyaele Sam Chiyson > [“A cocket gal and a cockeyed guy should not go to a cocktail lounge, they should get to the cockaigne.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/a-cocket-gal-and-a-cockeyed-guy-should-not-go-to-a-cocktail-lounge/) Anyaele Sam Chiyson > [Creeds matter very little... The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/creeds-matter-very-little-the-optimist-proclaims-that-we-live-in-the/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [I've always been sceptical about the notion that the market is a person you can engage in an argument with, and that that person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/i-ve-always-been-sceptical-about-the-notion-that-the-market-is-a/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [Some people argue against both optimism and pessimism in favor of so-called realistic thinking. They distrust optimism on the grounds that it causes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/some-people-argue-against-both-optimism-and-pessimism-in-favor-of-so/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [The most common cause of low prices is pessimism - some times pervasive, some times specific to a company or industry. We want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/the-most-common-cause-of-low-prices-is-pessimism-some-times-pervasive/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) ## More by Robert Breault > [You will not find a soulmate in the quiet of your room. You must go to a noisy place and look in the quiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/you-will-not-find-a-soulmate-in-the-quiet-of-your-room-you-must-go-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Never mind the odds against you. If you doubled your effort, what would the odds against you do — send for reinforcements?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/never-mind-the-odds-against-you-if-you-doubled-your-effort-what-would/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Retirement is having nothing to do and someone always keeping you from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/retirement-is-having-nothing-to-do-and-someone-always-keeping-you/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [There is in art the notion of less is more, which is to say, you don't torture a painting that has already confessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/there-is-in-art-the-notion-of-less-is-more-which-is-to-say-you-don-t/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [One's dream is defeated not by unsolvable problems, but by all the more-or-less satisfactory solutions that kill it forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/one-s-dream-is-defeated-not-by-unsolvable-problems-but-by-all-the/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [I cultivate my garden, and my garden cultivates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/i-cultivate-my-garden-and-my-garden-cultivates-me/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [In the end you regret less the things you believed that weren't true than the things that never came true because you didn't believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/in-the-end-you-regret-less-the-things-you-believed-that-weren-t-true/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The trick to getting ahead is to give it the same effort you give to getting even.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-trick-to-getting-ahead-is-to-give-it-the-same-effort-you-give-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Man will have replicated his own intelligence not when he teaches a computer to reason but when he teaches a computer to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/man-will-have-replicated-his-own-intelligence-not-when-he-teaches-a/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [To hurt someone you know will forgive you is the unkindiest thing of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/to-hurt-someone-you-know-will-forgive-you-is-the-unkindiest-thing-of/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [For every person who atones, a hundred others find regret sufficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/for-every-person-who-atones-a-hundred-others-find-regret-sufficient/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [As a means to success, determination has this advantage over talent - that it does not have to be recognized by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/as-a-means-to-success-determination-has-this-advantage-over-talent/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [As a gardener, I wonder if flowers really can't speak or just exercise unfailing good judgment in the matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/as-a-gardener-i-wonder-if-flowers-really-can-t-speak-or-just-exercise/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Genius is a plodding intellect, incapable of dreaming up the obstacles that stop the rest of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/genius-is-a-plodding-intellect-incapable-of-dreaming-up-the-obstacles/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) [Explore all 710 Robert Breault quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## More Littles quotes > [You gotta have a little kid in you to play football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-edwards/you-gotta-have-a-little-kid-in-you-to-play-football/) [Herman Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-edwards/) > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I remember that the bass was turned up slightly more on the mix from last week, and I thought that was good - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ronson/i-remember-that-the-bass-was-turned-up-slightly-more-on-the-mix-from/) [Mark Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ronson/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [I was very lucky to get well known much later in life. You need to have flopped quite a few times to get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-was-very-lucky-to-get-well-known-much-later-in-life-you-need-to/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [It's only a little difficult to say no. You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [We're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-re-raising-children-who-have-little-tolerance-for-disappointment/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) Browse all 27,615 Littles quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's still possible to be a cockeyed optimist these days - you just have to be a little more cockeyed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Breault" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-optimist-these-days-you-just/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Littles" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-optimist-these-days-you-just/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/robert-breault-304_littles_it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-opt_2432725.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/robert-breault-304_littles_it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-opt_2432725.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/robert-breault-304_littles_it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-opt_2432725.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's still possible to be a cockeyed optimist these days - you just have to be a little more cockeyed.” — Robert Breault", "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": "Robert Breault", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's still possible to be a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-optimist-these-days-you-just/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/it-s-still-possible-to-be-a-cockeyed-optimist-these-days-you-just/#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 } } ] } ```