Optimistically Pessmistic
I’m a big believer that all of us come into this world as optimists. I mean, food is just a scream away, naps are whenever we want, and you don’t have to move to go to the bathroom. It takes a lifetime to return to that state and by then you’re a cranky old man. You’re a pessimist.
For me, that’s an accurate description. Of course, there were times when I would think I had no reason to be pessimistic only to have something happen that reminded me I did. I’ve reached the conclusion life is better lived as a pessimist because when you expect to be disappointed and you are, then you aren’t surprised. Conversely, when you expect to be disappointed but it doesn’t happen, you know it’s only because there’s a better way to dump on you. As a pessimist, I’ve learned it’s going to be sunny every day I have to do something inside. It only rains when I’m out to play golf. And a half empty glass of water or liquor doesn’t say pessimist or optimist to me. It says that’s not my glass.
So while I do believe optimists may become pessimists, the reverse is never true. I have never found proof how good being a pessimist can be.
Until now. Here’s an article from the UK.
Here’s Why Being a Pessimist is Actually Good For You
It's easy to think that thinking positively will help us achieve our goals and prevent us from falling into a desperately sad pit of despair. But, shockingly enough, the latest research proves that optimism can actually limit us.
Wait, what? But doesn't being optimistic inspire us to put in the time and effort it takes to achieve our dreams? Not exactly.
Gabriele Oettingen, a psychologist, has been studying optimism since the 1980s. In 1991, she studied a group of women for an experiment on weight loss. Interestingly enough, the women who were pessimistic about their weight loss (meaning they thought the process would be too difficult, or they wouldn't reach their goal weight) actually lost more weight than women who were more optimistic about their weight loss. Actually, they lost 24 pounds more than their counterparts.
Through Oettingen's studies, she found that positive thinking often gets in the way of us achieving our goals. Pessimism can be beneficial because it's a better motivator than optimism. Indulging in optimistic fantasies about the future prevent us from working hard in the present.
Oettingen recommends a good balance between the two beliefs, which she refers to as WOOP. First, think about your Wish. Then, think about the Outcome. Then, think about your obstacles. And finally, come up with a plan to work against your obstacles in order to achieve your wish.
Of course, what the article doesn’t indicate is what their diets actually consisted of. Optimists will plan their meals down to the last cashew but pessimists are too grumpy to even shop, so if we’re dieting, we just order Weight Watchers meals and live off that. And because we know we won’t lose weight, we do because the world loves to prove us wrong.
But if you flash forward a year, you’ll find that the pessimists in that study put all their weight back on because we know that’s inevitable. We can never be successful dieters. As soon as we reach our goal weight, we celebrate by eating a big meal washed down with a lot of alcohol. The next morning, we’re four pounds heavier. We see the inevitability in that struggle and we trundle off to the kitchen to whip up a consoling breakfast. And as the scale numbers get bigger, we get to say “I told you so” in such a triumphant way that it almost makes us feel good.
“You see!” we yell, thumping our newly acquired fat.
But just to read the article made me think, if only for a moment, pessimists are the kinds of people everyone should be. I know if the whole world was pessimistic we would never have any wars because each side would know it couldn’t win.
The only thing I know for certain is pessimists and optimists will view the facts in that article differently. Optimists will be happy that both sides lost weight and pessimists will believe that now that those pessimistic women are thin, they’ll probably be hit by a bus.