Episode 43 • Optimism
Be a negative Nelly
Look on the bright side
Every cloud has a silver lining
See the glass half full
It's not the end of the world
Story
So, this is not a regular episode and this is not a story, well, actually it is a story, it’s my story but, don’t worry, we’ll still learn 5 new expressions. So, if you’ve listened to some of the past episodes you may know I quit my job last December. Teaching had become too much for me and I decided to focus 100% of my time on my projects, this podcast being the main one. Now, this meant not making any money whatsoever for months. This podcast has brought me so much joy because not only does it allow me to be creative but it also allows me to help hundreds of you improve your English. However, a couple of weeks ago I was offered a job and I had to accept it. I was so happy at first because I thought it wasn’t going to affect my personal projects. However, after nearly two weeks, I’ve realized I can’t keep doing everything the way I was, so I’m afraid from now on I’ll only be uploading one episode a week. Now, I don’t want to be a negative Nelly so let’s look on the bright side, okay? Because, at the end of the day, every cloud has a silver lining. So let’s try to see the glass half full, shall we? I now have a job, which means I’ll finally be able to pay for my share of the rent and food and stuff like that. So, yay for me! And.. you know, I’ll still be posting new episodes weekly, so… I guess I’m just trying to say it’s not the end of the world. Also, let me just take this opportunity thank you, really. Three months ago, I would’ve never imagined someone other than my mom would be listening to this podcast, so yeah, just thank you so much.
Questions
See, I told you we're going to look at five new expressions anyway.
Be a negative Nelly
'I don’t want to be a negative Nelly.'
• If you are a negative Nelly, do you make positive comments or not?
A negative Nelly obviously makes negative comments.
• And are these comments sporadic (not made often) or frequent?
If you are a negative Nelly, you make these kinds of negative comments very frequently. You're constantly complaining, constantly saying what's wrong.
• Have you ever met someone you thought was a negative Nelly?
I've got to be honest with you, usually I try not to hang out with negative Nellies, obviously because it's not-- I don't think it's very good influence. One of my exes, especially towards the end of a relationship, it wasn't a long relationship, but I felt like he was a negative Nelly, or at least he was being a negative Nelly and it was just really hard to be around him because he was complaining a lot about work and then about his friends and sometimes his parents. I couldn't deal with all of that negative energy. I think part of me broke up with him because he was being a negative Nelly.
Look on the bright side
'Let’s look on the bright side.'
• When do you need to look on the bright side? In a difficult situation or a happy one?
If you use the expression, I have to look on the bright side or let's look on the bright side, then it means that you're probably in a difficult situation and you just want to focus on the positive side of things.
• When was the last time you decided to look on the bright side?
It's something I haven't told you, but I'm actually back at home, I'm in Spain right now, I've had to and my trip because of the outbreak of the virus. I think that was a really important moment for me where I really had to stop and look because I was so upset that I had to end my trip. Obviously, we had six more months to go. Actually, no, it was four more months, but I was really upset so I really had to focus on the bright side. In that case, the bright side was, for example, not having to move around that much, being stable, having my own apartment. I don't know, all of these like little things make me focus on the bright side. Coming back home wasn't too bad.
Every cloud has a silver lining
'At the end of the day, every cloud has a silver lining.'
• When would you need to say that every cloud has a siliver lining? In a difficult situation or a happy one?
Again, here too, if we are in a difficult situation, we're going to use this expression.
• Does it mean your situation is completely bad or not entirely?
If you say every cloud has a silver lining, it means even in a bad situation there's a little something, there's a silver lining, so there's a little something that's positive that's good. Even a bad situation comes with its positive side effects or positive things.
• Do you agree with the fact that every cloud has a silver lining?
People like this because it helps you face-- They like the saying because it helps you face difficult moments I think. If something really bad happens to you when you say, "Oh, every cloud has a silver lining." Then I'm trying to help you trying to make you realize that maybe this is hiding something that's going to maybe make you grow or I don't know. I don't agree with that. I think some things are just bad honestly. Sorry, don't mean to be a negative Nelly, but I honestly think some things like maybe a death or a very important loss in your life, or financial distress when you're in financial difficulty, I don't know if there's a silver lining in that. Not entirely sure, but it's a good thing to say to a friend.
See the glass half full
'Let’s try to see the glass half full.'
• If you see the glass half full, do you focus on the positive or the negative?
If you focus on the glass half full, you focus on the positive things about a situation.
• What’s the opposite?
The opposite is seeing the glass half empty obviously.
• Do you normally see the glass half full or half empty?
I'm going to be honest here, I'm not exactly the most positive person on earth. Whenever you give me some news I always think of both the positive consequences and the negative consequences. Unfortunately, I tend to focus on the negative consequences. Just the way I am and just my personality brings me to look at the glass half empty. I'm trying to change ,but it's not easy.
It’s not the end of the world
'I’m trying to say it’s not the end of the world.'
• When do you use the expression “it’s not the end of the world”? When something good happens or when something bad happens?
You use the expression it's not the end of the world when something bad happens.
• Is it used to stress that something will affect you heavily or not?
It's used to say that something will not affect you heavily. Imagine, for example, you just lost $5 on the street and you tell me, I'm like, "Oh my gosh I lost $5." It actually happened to me once. I lost €50 because it was in my pocket and I think it fell and I didn't realize it. It sucks. You don't want to lose $50 like that or €50 or whatever, but at the end of the day it's not the end of the world because it's not going to affect me heavily. It's not going to change my whole life.
• How do you feel when you get a bad result at school or at work?
Obviously, it is not the end of the world, it's not an apocalypse every time you get an F in school or every time your boss tells you that you did something wrong. Personally, if I get a bad result at work, it does feel like it's the end of the world, although it's not the end of the world, we know it, but it's just, it sucks so bad and I'm such a perfectionist. Hopefully, you're not like that and you realize that these kinds of mistakes in the end, you know, they are not the end of the world.
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