If you think only of evil, then you become pessimistic and hopeless like Freud. But if you think there is no evil, then you're just one more deluded Pollyanna.
Abraham Maslow
I have been accused of being a Pollyanna, but I think there are plenty of people dealing with the darker side of human nature, and if I am going to write about people who are kind and generous and loving and thoughtful, so what?
Ann Patchett
I suffer from a genetic flaw, which is that my mother was a hopeless Pollyanna.
Bill Ayers
I don't mean to sound like a Pollyanna, but for me, New York is the ideal because of the diversity here. 'Billy on the Street' is really informed by that.
Billy Eichner
I live in constant anticipation of good stuff. It's not being 'Pollyanna' about things, but most stories don't have the ending we would give them right away. The better endings come later.
Bob Goff
Look, I hate to sound like Pollyanna, but I literally can't wait to get to work in the morning. I've got steady jobs, I've got my health, and I'm here in the greatest city in the world. I'd be a pig not to be grateful.
Christopher Meloni
None of my films are 'Pollyanna.' They're not little deers walking around with butterflies and stuff. That's not what I do.
Corbin Bernsen
I am not an idiot, and I'm not a Pollyanna sort of kumbaya type.
Dan Savage
You know, I do have a little Pollyanna in me.
Donna McKechnie
There are really four 'headlines' for me: honesty, integrity, hard work, and what I call a 'can-do' attitude. You could call that 'can-do' attitude optimism, but it is not Pollyannaish optimism. Rather, it is a 'we'll figure it out' type of mentality.
Dylan Taylor
My relationship with 'Pollyanna' is a very personal one, because Pollyanna got me through my childhood.
Eleanor Porter
Not to sound too Pollyanna-ish, but I think most people are decent, caring human beings. You don't necessarily see that reflected in fiction maybe, because possibly it's perceived as not having much dramatic potential.
Gail Honeyman
My husband and I met on OKCupid. We went out on our little coffee date, and I knew right away he was my husband. He's a handsome, smarty-pants architect from Tokyo. On our first date, I said, 'I wake up like this. I'm Pollyanna Sunshine, and I'm not for everyone'.
Geneva Carr
I don't find any real rivalries with crime and thriller writers anyway. That might sound a little Pollyanna, but for the most part the writers I compete with, if you want to use that word, it's a pretty friendly rivalry. I think we all realise that the boat rises and sinks together.
Harlan Coben
I'm not Pollyanna. Nobody has a magic wand.
Harris Faulkner
If the prime directives were followed a little more accurately here on earth, I mean it sounds somewhat Pollyanna, but I think people would certainly get along better.
Jonathan Frakes
Investors covet past improvements but also always believe pricing unimaginable future creativity and efficiency gains is Pollyannaish. And they're always wrong. Bet on it.
Kenneth Fisher
I remember being about eight and watching 'Pollyanna' with Hayley Mills. I looked at my mum and said, 'Mum, I want to be Pollyanna.' She said, 'You're going to have to make yourself cry if you want to be an actress.' So I turned my head away, and when I turned it back I was in floods of tears.
Laura Haddock
I'm not a Pollyanna; I'm a pragmatist.
Laura Lang
We have to support each other's tired nerves, I know that sounds so Pollyanna, but really... Mommy groups can be amazing, but haven't you ever gone to one and felt like you are back in high school, totally on the outside of the 'cool kids' club? I totally have!
Marissa Jaret Winokur
Balance in life is the key, as Aristotle taught us. Nobody likes a naive Pollyanna, but neither do we like to be around people who are constantly complaining and finding fault.
That's the way I look at things - if you focus on the worst case scenario and it happens, you've lived it twice. It sounds like Pollyanna-ish tripe but I'm telling you - it works for me.
I'm not Pollyanna.
I survived turning 60, I was not thrilled to turn 61, I was less thrilled to turn 62, I didn't much like being 63, I loathed being 64, and I will hate being 65. I don't let on about such things in person; in person, I am cheerful and Pollyanna-ish. But the honest truth is that it's sad to be over 60.
There are really two kinds of optimism. There's the complacent, Pollyanna optimism that says, 'Don't worry - everything will be just fine,' and that allows one to just lay back and do nothing about the problems around you. Then there's what we call dynamic optimism. That's an optimism based on action.
I am not pollyannaish about the deep partisan battles that divide us.
I went to an extreme for literary purposes because I felt all the self-help books out there were so gooey and Pollyanna-ish and nauseating. It was making me angry.
I'm less Pollyanna now. That's probably healthy.
I'm like a little Pollyanna. I look at the world with rose-colored glasses.
I am a bit of a Pollyanna - I spend most of my day happy.
My family absolutely comes first, and I don't mean that in a Pollyanna way. It's the focus of my life because it's what makes me happy.
I am not Pollyannaish about the depths of the challenges we face.
