Naivety

Is it naive to believe in the good faith of other people like someone called me or is this person just a pessimist?

Of course you shouldn't believe everything that somebody tells you, but with a little thinking, reflection and observation you can find out if the other person wants to harm you. 

For example some days ago I was visiting a fair and wanted to buy a ticket to use a fun ride. A girl before the counter wanted to sell me her ticket for the same price as I could have bought it at the counter. That seemed very odd to me and I declined. Her ticket was just a paper and I was suspicious that it was a scam. Well and so it was in some way. Before 5 p.m. they sold tickets at a special price (0,50 €) and after 5 p.m. at the normal price (4 €). The problem was that before the deadline a lot of people were buying mass amounts of the cheap tickets and so it was impossible to use the fun ride. I suppose I would had to wait 1-2 hours. After 20 minutes I got tired and changed my tickets back. This wouldn't have been possible with the cheap tickets.

So, as can be seen, just because one believes basically in the good doesn't mean that this person can be used always. Optimism paired with a sound skepticism let you interact openly with the people without any fear or negative thoughts. Just think about the motives of the counterpart, but not implying that it is a negative one. If you are thinking pessimistic you may easily oversee motives like altruism or kindness. Actually I believe that deep down every person wants to behave like that. Only socialization has oppressed these feelings in some people. 

But again, I am naive or as I would call it: trustful and unprejudiced.

Lisa Spreckelmeyer, "Unschuld"; Some rights reserved. Quelle: www.piqs.de