
“[A] pessimist gets nothing but pleasant surprises, an optimist nothing but unpleasant.”
Source: Fer-de-Lance
Gaul
(15 September 1992)
Variant: Always plan for the worst, that way all your surprises will be pleasant ones.
Source: The Shadow Rising
“[A] pessimist gets nothing but pleasant surprises, an optimist nothing but unpleasant.”
Source: Fer-de-Lance
“Better to put things at the worst at first, and reserve the best for a surprise.”
Mieux vaut mettre les choses au pis tout de suite, répondit l’ingénieur, et ne se réserver que la surprise du mieux.
Part I, ch. IX
The Mysterious Island (1874)
Context: Better to put things at the worst at first," replied the engineer, "and reserve the best for a surprise.
New Year's Address to the Nation (1991)
Source: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?