Pessimism Versus Optimism: Achieving A Balance To Hope For The Best While Preparing For The Worst

The topic of pessimism versus optimism is not as clear-cut as one might think. Aspects of each can have advantages and disadvantages, depending on the situation. However, as with other emotional and attitudinal contrasts, one tends to win out over the other if our goal is success, happiness and life fulfillment. Or better yet, generally, optimism with a pinch of pessimism may be the best attitude to strive for.

Why Be An Optimist?

Research has revealed that optimistic people are likely to achieve more and be happier than pessimists. One of the reasons for this is that when optimists encounter obstacles, their propensity is to anticipate a successful outcome, and that expectation makes them more likely to seek viable solutions. They may also be more likely to find ways to remove obstacles and find new pathways leading to solutions. Expecting success, they are also better equipped to persist than pessimists. Pessimists, on the other hand, are probably not going to invest a lot of time or energy investing in a venture they believe is doomed to failure.

Still, we should be aware that the pessimistic approach does have some good aspects. When a goal has both a low chance of success and a low value, the wisest approach may indeed be to give up in favor of another more realistic and/or more valuable goal. And when the stakes are high, pessimism can help us prepare. For example, while an optimist may hope for the best and fail to anticipate the likely outcomes of a serious illness, such as MS or cancer, the pessimist may be more likely to prepare in advance for declining health and infirmity.

Overall, however, the optimist is not only more likely to persist but also more likely to be proactive, confident and resourceful when dealing with problems of all kinds. These traits help optimists develop and grow, making them good candidates to learn from—and actually in some instances to benefit from—negative experiences.

Taken to extremes, the pessimist who tends to focus on negative information may be more likely to move toward depression and its associated challenges. A pessimist is also more likely to hold views that cause them to groundlessly blame themselves when things go wrong.

Also, those who experience the same stimuli but tend to retain and accentuate its positive aspects are more likely to improve resilience and become happier, more fulfilled people. In the face of failure, an optimist is less likely to take the event personally but instead will look for objective reasons for the failure and consider how they can learn from it.

How To Be More Optimistic.

Whether we are mostly optimistic or mostly pessimistic can be influenced by many factors, including culture, upbringing, and life experiences. While we may be conditioned toward pessimism by factors like these, our emotional intelligence practice can raise our awareness of our typical approaches to life and change them to our benefit.

Here are some approaches I hope you will find beneficial:

Write morning pages.

Before you start working on welcoming a desired change of either your pessimistic or your optimistic proclivities, you need to evaluate whether actual facts bear them out. In other words, are your expectations being validated? Start this analysis at the beginning of your day with morning pages, in which you take 10 minutes or so to write down whether you expect the day’s events to unfold favorably or unfavorably. Then, at the end of the day, reevaluate your evaluation and determine whether your expectations were accurate. After that, you can decide what change you want to commit to.

Start the day positively.

Starting your day as you intend to continue it is a great way to make optimism a stronger force in your life. You can’t control all that happens during your day, but you can at least start out on the right foot and begin it with a determined expectation that it is going to turn out well. Also, beginning it with a brief meditation, affirmation, inspirational text or another positive force can help set you on the track to positivity and optimism. I also know people who sometimes start their morning with a short reading from a biography or autobiography of a person they admire.

Be realistic.

Attempt to balance optimism and pessimism. Rather than being hindered by pessimism, use it as a tool and allow it to help you identify fears and prepare for them accordingly. This is especially valuable if you tend to be the nervous type or suffer from anxiety. This approach is sometimes called defensive pessimism. For balance, thinking about previous successes can boost your confidence.

Use positive visualization.

Imagine potential or current challenges and see yourself handling them. Seeing yourself achieving successful outcomes will boost your confidence, resilience and resourcefulness.

Look for positives in every negative.

Whenever a negative event occurs, take the time to look for the positive in it. You may wish to do this in writing. This will help positive thinking and optimism become a habit. Practice reframing by using this fill-in-the-blank tool: "Unfortunately, ___. Fortunately, ___."

Accept your emotions.

Being optimistic doesn’t mean that you can’t have emotions. Emotions like anger, guilt and fear are normal parts of life, even for those with a more positive outlook than others. Repressing such emotions is more likely to lead to distress than accepting them for what they are. The key is to stay aware and mindful of your emotions so that you are not ruled by them.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to pessimism versus optimism, we have a clear winner. While optimism and pessimism can both help us navigate through life, favoring optimism can boost our energy, help us recover from illness and reduce stress. Also, optimism can be a great aid to resourcefulness, resilience and inspiration for others. Limit pessimism and invite optimism into your life to learn from the past and experience a brighter future.

This article was initially published in Forbes