A Skeptic With a Sunny Disposition

I was thinking about how I’d describe my philosophy of life, and this is the best way I’ve found to put it:

At the very highest level, I’m a skeptic with a sunny disposition.

That’s the overarching frame. I’m naturally skeptical, but I’m not cynical. I’m generally positive, open, and cheerful about the world and other people—but I don’t take things at face value.

At a more practical, day-to-day operating level, it breaks down like this: about 10% of the time, I’m an optimist with strong convictions, very loosely held. The other 90% of the time, I’m a pure skeptic.

What that means in practice is: you have to prove me wrong, and if you do, I’ll accept it gladly. I’m happy to update my beliefs. But my default starting point is skepticism.

I’m not sure if this is the perfect way to describe it, but it’s the closest I’ve come to how I actually work.