Positive effects of pessimism

[MMandM]

Sometimes I catch myself being a pessimist. Pessimism is not a bad thing at all. Sure a pessimistic person such as myself expects the worst possible outcome of situations, but subconsciously I'm taking steps to avoid the worst. At least when something goes wrong I'm not upset about it, it was expected. Right? On the other hand though, if a situation turns out good in the end I'm left with a wonderful surprised feeling. More people should look into this and understand the outcome of it. I was brought up by parents who imbued me with the message, "Chicken little, and the sky is falling". As such, I always imagined worst-case scenarios, and then was pleased when the world did not fall in on me.

 

As I matured, I found though, that this way of thinking is counterproductive, wastes time and emotional energy, and serves no useful purpose. I have done a 180, and now see the glass as "half full", instead of "half empty" as before. I must admit though, that if I don't catch myself, I STILL have a slight tendency to expect the worst!

 

What are your thoughts; do you believe pessimism could be just another way of positive thinking? Your opinions are greatfully appreciated.

Edited June 9, 2007 by Mark_Marciano

[Menzoberranzen]

I don't believe pessimism is positive thinking, but I think it is a more realistic outlook on life. I'm not a Samuel Beckett, people-suck-always type of person, but I have very few expectations of people, and that has caused me to be rarely be disappointed by the stupidity of humanity.

[myself_i_must_remake]

as with many things, it's a good idea to be moderate.

 

optimism, even when it's not realistic, can be a good thing.

personal example - i'm trying to write a novel. i know there are thousands of people trying to do the same thing, and i know that when i send in my manuscript, it'll be considered against many others by people who are just as, if not more, talented. also, not all manuscripts get the same consideration, depending on who reads it and what the publishing house is looking for at the time. but if i think about that too much, if any author did, they'd abandon the cause quickly.

 

this can apply to a lot of things.

i'd say most inventions and forms of entertainment are the results of reckless optimism.

 

i'm actually not going to supply reasons for pessimism, because i feel like the gay lifestyle gears people towards it, and that it'll be well-represented enough on here without my input.

 

but as i stated at the beginning, being moderate will work best for most people.

[GaryKelly]

I think you've gone the long way around saying: lower one's expectations. But I don't think that equates to pessimism.

[Krista]

Many people see pessimism as something bad. I think they only real way that it's a bad thing is to be pessimistic about everyday life. Like waking up and saying, "Like always, the day will be hell." New situations I think always bring about some sort of pressimism though and that's ok.

 

As for positive effects people are surprised when nothing bad happens so it gives them some sort of confidence in similar situations. If things turn out terribly then people aren't all that disappointed. I think that's the only two positive outcomes from being pessimistc though.

 

 

Krista

[rknapp]

I am a very pessimistic person, and with good reason. I am an engineering major, and so I absolutely CANNOT have high expectations concerning grades, as it is a known fact that a 40% on a test is probably the best in the class when the class is engineering. I go in everyday expecting it to be hell, and more often than not I find myself relieved at the outcome everyday. Likewise my job is retail, and so I can't expect much from customers since the consumer is the stupidest person known to man. Half the customers can't read a sign properly! They see only the numbers and none of the words that apply certain stipulations and that causes havoc at the register. For example, the store offers a 10 or 15% discount for opening a charge card, and so they have signs everywhere that advertise that fact. Many people come up and, after scanning everything, they ask "does that total include the 15%?" or, "and I get 15% off today, right?" No, you whore, you have to OPEN a charge to get it! [/rant]

 

Anyway, being pessimistic is one important way for me to have any semblance of sanity at the end of each day.

[GaryKelly]

Likewise my job is retail, and so I can't expect much from customers since the consumer is the stupidest person known to man. [/rant]

 

Hey, that's only 100% of people, mate, so don't let it get you down. When I was a DJ, I'd arrive at the studio feeling pretty chipper and get calls saying 'what's wrong with you today?' And when I turned up hungover and feeling dreadful, I got calls saying, 'Jeez! You were chipper today!' There ya go.

[Ieshwar]

do you believe pessimism could be just another way of positive thinking? Your opinions are gratefully appreciated.

 

Positive? I would rather say sane! It's normal to have a bit of pessimism and optimism. Absolute pessimism and absolute optimism is plain foolish. But I prefer pessimism to optimism- this at least prevents disillusionment and disppointement!

 

Ieshwar

[jfalkon]

I am a pesimist too. On the whole it has served me well. If some situation turns out badly, I am at least mentaly prepared. It still does not stop me from complaining though. I don't know how people who expect the best all the time do not go crazy from the disapointment. Maybe some one can explain that.

 

I think that seeing the glass as half empty can be a good thing. It can be a motivating force. If you are happy with there being something in the glass you never try to get it completely full.

 

Pesimism like anything else can be useful. It can even be funny. If you watch a comedian some time you will notice that many of them describe their lives as pathetic and even tragic but they can make you laugh.

[AFriendlyFace]

Well, in virtually any circle I run in I tend to be considered the most optimistic person there. Actually I'm always a little surprised by that face. I do consider myself an optimist, but I don't think I'm that intense with it, and I often get this comment from people I've only recently met and who I THOUGHT hadn't even had much of an opportunity to see the optimism. So I suppose it is something I put out there.

 

Do I think pessimism can be positive and productive? Ummm, NO, not really. I mean I guess it could be a little bit, but for the most part I think it drains people, makes them give up faster, and generally weakens morale all around.

 

Anyway, as Krista and Mark said, you can just go ahead and lower your expectation while also taking provisions to ensure that everything goes well, WITHOUT losing confidence and hope that things WILL go well. In other words don't walk into a test saying "I'm going to ace this sucker even though I didn't study!" (although I've often done that...and indeed aced them ) instead go in saying "I'm going to ace this sucker because I'm well prepared, and even if I don't I'm still doing well in the class and will have plenty of time to ace the next one!"

 

Take care and have an awesome day

Kevin

[eliotmoore]

Arthur Miller, speaking about his play Death of a Salesman, opined that Life is the tension between anticipation and the inevitability of disappointment. The remark has always stuck with me.

 

I am a pessimist now I guess. I stand with my foot caught in the tracks and I know a train will come along to rub me out. I'll work to free myself, yell a bit and send up flares with the flare gun I seem to have conveniently at hand. Likely help will not come. The defining moment might be what I do just before the train hits. Sometimes the defining moment will be what we do after the metaphoric train hits us -- the old get knocked down, but get up again line.

 

Make no mistake, the trains always hit us one way or another. The moments of bliss come unexpectedly. When we anticipate and prepare for them, they tend to fail us.

[AFriendlyFace]

I recently moved. I loaded some furniture into the back of the truck, drove it over to the new place, then got out to unload it. Upon going back there I realized that one of the two end tables I'd loaded up had apparently fallen out in transit ( ) and was now presumably somewhere between here and there in several smaller pieces. My reaction honest to God first reaction?

 

"Oh well, at least it was the one I didn't like as much"

[Graeme]

Optimism and pessimism are both extremes in a spectrum. Very few people are one or the other.

 

Pessimism is often a driving force behind contigency planning. Mark indicated this with his initial post, but he then proved he wasn't a complete pessimist by saying he was pleasantly surprised that things weren't as bad as they could've been. A true pessimist would have just worried that that implied that the next day was going to be even worse!

 

Seriously, pessimism helps with tactical planning (given a goal, how do I get there without a mishap?). Optimism helps with strategic planning (what is possible? What could I do?) Both are healthy when experienced correctly. Neither is healthy when taken to extremes.