Optimism vs. Pessimism

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“A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties”  ~ Harry Truman.

Is Optimism really better than Pessimism? Does optimism serve any real tangible value? Is there any reason for a pessimist to consider becoming an optimist? Is optimism a generally desired state?

The honest answer to these questions is that in general, optimism is more desirable than pessimism. There are however occasions when it is useful to engage in pessimistic thinking. I will touch on those later on in this article. In the majority of situations however it is more valuable, and in fact, tangibly valuable to engage in optimistic thinking. And generally, it is more valuable to be an optimistic who occasionally engages in pessimistic thinking than a pessimist who occasionally engages in optimistic thinking.

Optimists are healthier and live longer

Studies have shown that optimists not only enjoy better health but actually live longer. A Harvard study that followed the lives of 99 students from the age of 25 found that those who were initially classified as optimists at that young age were significantly healthier at the ages of 45 and 60. Pessimism in early life is a stable predictor of poor health in later life.

Similar studies have shown that pessimism is a good predictor of not only infectious disease but also of early mortality. In other words, being a pessimist literally means that you will likely die sooner.  Research conducted on cancer patients has shown that those who are optimists have healthier outcomes than those who are pessimists.

Optimists are less stressed and less depressed

In terms of emotional health, optimists experience less stress than pessimists and are less likely to fall into a severe depression even when faced with a catastrophic event such as the death of a loved one or failure of a marriage. Training clinically depressed patients to think optimistically has been shown to relieve depression better than the application of antidepressant drugs.

Further, learning to think optimistically is a more long-lasting solution to the problem of depression in comparison to the temporary solution offered by medication. And given that a recent study conducted by the FDA has shown that antidepressants often do not treat all the symptoms of depression, the solution of learning to engage in optimistic thinking is all the more potent.

Optimists are more successful

In terms of success, optimists have repeatedly been shown be the winners. Optimists perform better, bounce back from setbacks faster and are more persistent. This persistence leads them to keep trying long after the pessimists have given up, which is one of the reasons for their greater success.

Optimists have a more satisfying personal life

Optimists also enjoy healthier happier relationships – and not just romantic relationships, but relationships with friends, co-workers and even bosses. Optimists generally express a greater level of satisfaction with the people in their lives and have longer marriages.

Optimists are happier

Most importantly, optimists enjoy life more. Give an optimist and a pessimist the same exact life circumstances and the optimist will express a greater level of subjective pleasure with his life than the pessimist will. Yesterday’s article on How to be Happy – Training yourself to enjoy life referenced this.

When it pays to be pessimistic

While it pays to engage in optimistic thinking overall, there are some instances when pessimistic thinking will serve you better. Consider for example a neurosurgeon – a neurosurgeon must consider carefully all the things that might go wrong during surgery and the consequences of those things. She cannot afford to say, “Nah, that won’t happen – I won’t accidentally sever a vital neurological circuit within the brain and paralyze this patient.” She has to ensure that her surgical procedures are safe enough to ensure that this will not happen. She has to engage in pessimistic thinking.

Consider another example – a person is contemplating stealing something from his office – he needs to look at the worst possible scenario and outcome. He needs to consider the situation where they are caught, embarrassed, and locked up, rather than the situation where he succeeds and gets away with the crime (which by the way is highly unlikely – most criminals are caught – just in case you were considering a life of crime ).  In short, this person needs to consider all the possible negative consequences of the action. In order to do that, he needs to engage in pessimistic thinking.

Dr Seligman , father of the positive psychology movement, says “When the cost of failure is large and catastrophic, you don’t want to use optimism skills.” A general rule is that whenever the consequences are large and potentially very negative, pessimistic thinking can be a useful protective tool.

Outside of this exception however, people who generally engage in optimistic thinking lead healthier, happier, more productive, more successful lives.

Tomorrow’s article will discuss the difference between optimistic and pessimistic thinking and tell you how to figure out for certain if you are a pessimist or an optimist.
 

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Related Articles:

• How to become an Optimist – Part I
• How to become an Optimist Part II: Disputing Pessimistic Beliefs
• How to become an Optimist Part III: Avoid Thinking Errors
• How to be Happy – Training yourself to enjoy life
• The Power of Realistic Positive Thinking
• Your Capacity for Change
• The Different Explanatory Styles of Optimism and Pessimism
• Optimism & Resilience
• Coping with Stress – Part I
• How to Fight Depression Naturally

 

Posted in A New Start, Depression, Optimism and Positive Thinking |   3 Comments »

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 14th, 2006 at 7:05 am and is filed under A New Start, Depression, Optimism and Positive Thinking . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.