![]() ![]() That doesn’t mean we need to stay with our heads in the clouds as if nothing can go wrong. ![]() Optimism may lead to better outcomes and healthier life. The optimist invents the airplane, the pessimist the parachute.” – George Bernard Shaw “Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. What if you can strike a good balance between optimism and pessimism? I’m not suggesting a 50/50 split, but we can use pessimism like a spice. We’re always living in one extreme or another. That’s a good thing! Finding Balance Between Optimism and Pessimism You’ll be treading into optimism with this approach. It can help flip the script on ruminating about what can go wrong from a pessimist’s viewpoint and better prepare you if the possibility occurs. This approach will also help decrease anxiety by making the situation more manageable. It works in business and can work in life as well. We do this in project planning to mitigate the risk of the timeline being impacted if a risk is actualized. Defensive pessimism is a way to set expectations about what can go badly by first acknowledging what could go wrong, analyzing it, and planning a way to mitigate the issue if it arises. There’s also a cognitive strategy called “defensive pessimism” that can be of benefit to you. This awareness can help you be proactive and address the negative before something unexpected happens. It can alert you of threats and risks of a situation or within a goal you’re trying to accomplish. Small doses of pessimism can help you have a realistic outlook on a situation. Like anything in life, too much of a good thing can be unhealthy. It all sounds pretty grim.Īll is not lost though because it turns out that a dose of pessimism can be a healthy thing for us. There’s also the possibility that the person is predisposed to pessimism due to genetic factors. It’s not always the case that someone chooses to be a pessimist. It can include divorce, job loss, illness, and/or trauma. Life circumstances can result in a more pessimist outlook. Some of these include anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, and more. ![]() Unfortunately, the truly pessimistic people are also those who have increased mental and physical health issues. These are all the people we label with the “glass is half empty” attitude. Men are also part of the pessimistic bunch. The Negative Nelly or Debbie Downer can fall into this category. It is when we have a lack of hope or confidence in the future. Pessimism in contrast to optimism is a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen. Of course, you still have to include that good old-fashioned, roll up those sleeves work to obtain your goals. The power of optimism lies in your ability to see the future or your goal with the hope and confidence that you can accomplish what you set your mind to achieve. Creating a blend of a positive and objective look at things will help you properly and realistically evaluate your goal. Planning is a good way to help pinpoint the potential risky areas of what you’re trying to achieve and address those risks head-on with your optimistic outlook. Some measure of true reality can help the optimist more clearly gauge the risk of a situation or endeavor. Optimism can help a person strive for more and pursue lofty dreams. One may argue that you can be overly optimistic with rose-colored glasses and miss the reality of a situation though. They have better mental and physical health, including less anxiety and lower blood pressure. They have a healthier outlook on life and the ability to better manage stressful events that may occur. People who are optimists can see negative outcomes as just temporary setbacks and generally move forward with the belief in positive results. Optimists generally have a positive outlook. Optimism is being hopeful and confident about the future or the successful outcome of something. Let’s dive deeper into both and the power each holds. It’s really all in how each of us chooses to look at the situation or at life in general. However, if we take a look at how both can impact our mental health, we’ll find that they can have meaningful outcomes from both a positive and negative perspective. While in contrast, the power of pessimism is negative and bad. How can both optimism and pessimism have power? You’ll probably assume the power of optimism means it’s positive and good. ![]()
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