What does optimism mean? It could depend on who you are. Some optimists believe optimism is trying to make the best out of every situation. A pessimist might say that optimism is wishful thinking. Both views have some truth to it. What about pessimism? What does that mean? An optimist may say that it’s trying to make the worst out of every situation, and a pessimist would say they are being realistic. Now that I’ve defined optimism and pessimism from everyone’s point of view, now I can get down to what it really means. Optimism is looking at only the good things of something and pessimism is looking at only the bad things.
I do not consider myself an optimist or a pessimist. I believe that one should look at things as they really are. If you look at only the good things or the bad things of something, you may not understand some things fully. I prefer to try not to be too wishful in my thinking and at the same time be realistic. However, sometimes when I think of something, my first reaction is overly optimistic or pessimistic. For instance, at one point when I was writing this speech I said to myself that I’d never finish. Of course that’s not true because I’m giving the speech now.
I also do now know many people that tend to think very optimistically or very pessimistically ALL the time. I find that many people use the same approach as I do when it comes to things, looking at all sides of whatever situation one is facing. Few people I know will always try to look specifically for good or specifically for bad things in a situation. A lot of it, I find, is based on their mood, which changes frequently at the stage of life that many of the people I know are in.
It is my belief that when someone is too optimistic, they may plan badly or not plan at all for something. Consider an optimist buying a lottery ticket. If she then maxes out her credit card thinking she’ll have plenty of money to pay her debt later and then doesn’t win the million dollars, she’s out of luck. Also, if a pessimist buys a lottery ticket (which is quite ironic, I might point out) and then throws it away, thinking there’s no way it could be a winning ticket, she would be very upset if she found out it had the winning numbers on it.
Optimism and pessimism don’t have to be that blatant. Optimism can also relate to someone being vain and pessimism to someone with low self-esteem (of course this is not always the case). Optimist may tend to think they are good-looking and pessimist may tend to think they are not so good- looking. There can also be many other aspects of a person’s life that optimism and pessimism effect, such as their mood. Optimists tend to be more up-beat, while pessimists seem to be down in the dumps a lot. Optimists may wear bright colors while pessimist could tend to like darker colors (of course you could not say that someone who wears light colors is an optimist or that someone who wears dark colors is a pessimist).
Many people believe that a positive attitude is the quickest road to success. However, Nancy Cantor, a psychologist at the University of Michigan produced evidence that for some people Defensive Pessimism may help with their anxiety. She divided a group of undergraduate students into optimists and pessimists, and then gave them a puzzle to complete. Pessimists were more anxious but were just as successful as the optimists in solving the puzzle. Cantor suspected that when the pessimists told themselves that they would fail, it reduced their anxiety so they could concentrate on solving the puzzle. The pessimists set low expectations for themselves, which took away their strategy to reduce anxiety.
Dr. Julie K. Noram has also done studies on these types of pessimists, called Defensive Pessimists. She has also done work with people who work the other way, called Strategic Optimists. These optimists do the opposite, raising expectations and then avoiding thinking about it further to lower their anxiety.
“Millions of people have learned to cope with the pressures of daily life by using Defensive Pessimism, a strategy of imagining the worst case scenario,” She says. “What if the train is running late and you won’t make it to your job interview on time? What if you don’t know anyone at a party you’ll be attending? What if you don’t know any of the questions on your final exam? Defensive pessimists lower their expectations to help prepare themselves for the worst. Then, they mentally play through all the bad things that might happen. Though it sounds as if it might be depressing, defensive pessimism actually helps anxious people focus away from their emotions so that they can plan and act effectively.”
She also says that Strategic Optimism is for people who aren’t as anxious. These optimists set their expectations high and avoid thinking about what could happen.
However, both Strategic Optimists and Defensive Pessimists can be vulnerable. If Defensive Pessimists set their expectations higher or don’t play through worst-case scenarios, they may become more anxious. If Strategic Optimists set their expectations lower or start thinking about outcomes, they too become more anxious.
You may be wondering what all this has to do about “United We Stand in Optimism”. I interpreted the topic as a question; a question asking if it is better for people to be optimists or pessimists. Through this analysis, I’ve come to the conclusion that neither optimism nor pessimism is significantly superior. I think the best approach to everything is the way I explained before, to look at the good AND the bad sides of everything. It’s good to set your expectations high, but it’s also good to think about the worst thing that could happen, so at the very least you’ll be prepared for anything.
