Pessimism

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But better health must be small consolation to optimists when, throughout their lives, they are always suffering from disappointments and let-downs. Whereas for a pessimist, if a nice thing happens, it is a glorious surprise.

Pessimists are realists. They have more understanding about the world and its contradictions. They refuse to be up in the clouds.

It is for this reason I can't abide rubbish bestsellers such as Learned Optimism: How To Change Your Mind And Your Life and Authentic Happiness: Using The New Positive Psychology To Realise Your Potential For Lasting Fulfilment.

I take one look at the graphs, charts, questionnaires and classroom exercises, with which the author, one Martin E. P. Seligman PhD, claims he can coach pessimists to become optimists, and I want to run a mile.

Yet Seligman's is the stuff peddled by psychologists and imparted by trendy educationalists, who are instilling youngsters with lies and deceptions about thinking positively.

Indeed, people are bullied today into having to feel positive - avoiding disputes, curbing cynicism, eradicating irony or a satirical edge.

Even top-drawer moll Lady Antonia Fraser is caught up with the cult of positive thinking.

'Be calm, have a calm centre, turn towards the calm centre and inspect it, contemplate my soul,' she apparently intones every night in a far-away manner. No wonder Harold Pinter was such a bad-tempered old codger.

People are made to feel guilty if they are not measuring up and feeling optimistic the whole time, and so go on anti-depressant drugs. If you are not an optimist, you are more or less a traitor.

Seligman, in particular, is against individualism. He wants to merge people into a mass or group. He thinks optimists are those who focus on activities 'devoted to the well-being of others or of the community at large'. Trotsky, Mao, any totalitarian you can name, advocated the same.

Me, I'm an enemy of the people. It's precisely when I attempt to leave the privacy of my study and my books and venture into 'the community at large' that things go wrong. Hell is other people, as Jean-Paul Sartre said.

It always annoys me when book reviewers and interviewers describe me as a bile-filled old curmudgeon, a Mr Grumpy who is as approachable as a cactus.

I like to think of myself as very sweetly forbearing, particularly when faced with life's petty and not so petty trials.

Read more...

Optimism negatively affects a firm's performance

Surprisingly, this paper found that optimism negatively affects a firm's performance...

Abstract:

"This study explores the effects of top managers' dispositional optimism on firm behavior and performance, and more specifically, the relationship between top managers' optimism and firm problem recognition, firm problem solving actions and firm performance. To test these hypotheses, surveys and other data from a strategy simulation game were analyzed. Results indicate that top managers' optimism positively influences problem recognition and problem solving actions, but unexpectedly, negatively influences firm performance."

Optimism - Explanatory Style

What is 'explanatory style'?

This refers to how we explain events that affect us. This explanation may be pessimistic (we blame ourselves) or optimistic (we realise there are other external factors.)

Equally when 'good' things happen the pessimist may say it was 'luck - and will not happen again'; the optimist would be pleased in his/her performance.

From about.com we read....There are three facets of how people can explain a situation. This can influence whether they lean toward being optimists or pessimists:

Stable vs. Unstable: Can time change things, or do things stay the same regardless of time?

Global vs. Local: Is a situation a reflection of just one part of your life, or your life as a whole?

Internal vs. External: Do you feel events are caused by you or by an outside force?

Realists see things relatively clearly, but most of us aren’t realists. Most of us, to a degree, attribute the events in our lives optimistically or pessimistically. The pattern looks like this:

Optimists

Optimists explain positive events as having happened because of them (internal). They also see them as evidence that more positive things will happen in the future (stable), and in other areas of their lives (global). Conversely, they see negative events as not being their fault (external). They also see them as being flukes (isolated) that have nothing to do with other areas of their lives or future events (local).

For example, if an optimist gets a promotion, she will likely believe it’s because she’s good at her job and will receive more benefits and promotion in the future. If she’s passed over for the promotion, it’s likely because she was having an off-month because of extenuating circumstances, but will do better in the future.

Pessimists

Pessimists think in the opposite way. They believe that negative events are caused by them (internal). They believe that one mistake means more will come (stable), and mistakes in other areas of life are inevitable (global), because they are the cause. They see positive events as flukes (local) that are caused by things outside their control (external) and probably won’t happen again (unstable).

A pessimist would see a promotion as a lucky event that probably won’t happen again, and may even worry that she’ll now be under more scrutiny. Being passed over for promotion would probably be explained as not being skilled enough. She'd therefore expect to be passed over again.

What This Means

Understandably, if you’re an optimist, this bodes well for your future. Negative events are more likely to roll off of your back, but positive events affirm your belief in yourself, your ability to make good things happen now and in the future, and in the goodness of life.

Fortunately for pessimists and realists, these patterns of thinking can be learned to a degree (though we tend to be mostly predisposed to our patterns of thinking.) Using a practice called ‘cognitive restructuring,' you can help yourself and others become more optimistic by consciously challenging negative, self-limiting thinking and replacing it with more optimistic thought patterns.

Have a read of these abstracts from papers - they're interesting:

Seligman, M.E.P. and Schulman, P. (1986). Explanatory style as a predictor of productivity and quitting among life insurance agents. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 832-838.

Peterson, C. and Seligman, M.E.P. (1987). Explanatory style and illness. Journal of Personality, 55, 237-265.

Satterfield, J.M. and Seligman, M.E.P., (1994). Military aggression and risk predicted by explanatory style. Psychological Science, 5, 77-82.

Optimism - Disputing Strategy

We have discovered that there are human strengths that act as buffers against mental illness: courage, future-mindedness, optimism, interpersonal skill, faith, work ethic, hope, honesty, perseverance, the capacity for flow and insight, to name several. Much of the task of prevention in this new century will be to create a science of human strength whose mission will be to understand and learn how to foster these virtues in young people.

My own work in prevention takes this approach and amplifies a skill that all individuals possess, but usually deploy in the wrong place. The skill is called disputing (Beck, Rush, Shaw, and Emery, 1979), and its use is at the heart of "learned optimism." If an external person, who is a rival for your job, accuses you falsely of failing at your job and not deserving your position, you will dispute him. You will marshal all the evidence that you do your job very well. You will grind the accusations into dust. But if you accuse yourself falsely of not deserving your job-which is just the content of the automatic thoughts of pessimists-you will not dispute it. If it issues from inside, we tend to believe it. So in "learned optimism" training programs, we teach both children and adults to recognize their own catastrophic thinking and to become skilled disputers (Peterson, 2000; Seligman, 1991; Seligman, Reivich, Jaycox, & Gillham, 1996; Seligman, Schulman, DeRubeis & Hollon, 1999).

Source:

Optimism - the happy person

From an article by Med Jones...

The Unhappy Personality

Unhappy people tend to be pessimists: they exaggerate the negative impact of events and propel their thinking into worst-case scenarios. For example:

• They get an invitation to go on a date and then their minds (consciously or subconsciously) start to generate negative thoughts. They may imagine awkward moments, Maybe I won’t look beautiful enough, Maybe I won’t be funny, S/he is not going to like me enough, He is only after sex, She is only after my money, Sex won’t be good, S/he will eventually break my heart
• If someone wrongs them, they'll think S/he hates me, S/he is a bad person and this is a bad relationship.
• If they make a public mistake, their self-image is shattered, their ego is devastated and they can't sleep well for several nights
• When something bad happens, it is not just a bad event, it's a bad day. If they think it’s big enough, then it’s a bad year, or worse a bad life. Some pessimists live with bad events far longer than when the actual event took place. They can't let go of the past: they dwell on their misfortunes and the mistakes of others for ages.
• Some of them are masters of negative chain thinking. For example, if they make a mistake on an assignment, they think they’ll lose their jobs and all they have worked for. Their relationships and eventually their lives are destroyed. They take an exaggerated or dramatic view toward the events in their lives.
• When a good thing happens, pessimists think it’s a fluke.
• Pessimists almost always blame others or external life circumstances for their own failures.
• Most of the time, they find themselves asking a negative "Why?" They ask Why me? Why can’t I have this or that? Why can’t I be this or that?

• Pessimists tend to justify their attitude by negative historical events or past major traumas, but what they don’t realize is that past events are dead and these events only live in their minds

• Their main motto is Life is not fair.

Pessimists tend to be overly sensitive people and they use negativity as a defense mechanism. They tend to keep their expectations low in order to risk fewer disappointments. What they don’t realize is that this thinking pattern, over time and with practice, creeps into other areas of life, which leads to the following critical consequences:

1. Pessimists miss out on promising new work and relationships opportunities due to preconceived negative expectations.
2. Negative expectations of others lead the person to adopt passive, defensive or aggressive behavior, which incites bad will and similar reactions from others, thus falling into the trap of negative self-fulfilling prophecies. That cycle will reinforce their negative expectation of events or people and they will say I knew it. or " I had a feeling it was going to be bad"
3. Pessimists are so focused and preoccupied with a negative experience that their minds filter out the good experiences and their memories store mainly bad events
4. Pessimists become subjected to chronic stress and long periods of depression, anxiety or anger and may develop mental and physical diseases, such as headaches, high blood pressure or low sexual drive.
5. Worst of all, their expectations of most things and events in life become so low that their life for the most part, lacks excitement and joy.

In short, the pessimistic thinking pattern doesn't merely ruin a good time, it causes individuals more stress and exerts a lot of pressure on their personal and work relationships. In other words, it sucks happiness out of their lives and the lives of the people they love.

On the other hand, let's examine the opposite personality type

The Happy Personality

Happy people tend to be optimists: they exaggerate the positive impact of positive events and propel their thinking into best-case scenarios. For example:

• Optimists get an invitation to a date and then their mind starts to generate positive thoughts. They may imagine wonderful moments. They assure themselves that they’ll look and sound their best, that they are going to have a nice meal, that they will have fun and may experience romance and passionate sex.
• If someone wrongs them, the optimists think it is a mistake: The other person does not know better and I have what it takes to be assertive, correct the situation and maybe even win him or her over to my side.
• When optimists make a public mistake, they view it as part of a learning process, they know that no one is perfect and they care less about false images. Their peace of mind is far more important to them than the gossip of people.
• When something good happens, it's a good day; if they think it's big enough, then it’s a good year, or better yet a great life.
• The best of them are masters at positive spin, for example if they make a mistake or fail an assignment, they know they can get themselves a second chance. Even if they lose their jobs, they believe they can find another one with better pay and whatever skills they have learned at their previous job they can use for bettering their new careers.
• When something bad happens optimists think it’s a fluke.
• Most of the time they find themselves asking a positive “How?”. They ask how can I get this? How can I achieve that? How can I be/do this?
• Their main motto is "Life is not fair, but I’m going to make the best of it and learn to be on the winning side."

Optimists tend to have better self-esteem and are more resilient to negative events. They use “positive thinking” as a self-defence and self-motivation mechanism. They tend to raise their expectations in order to get the most out of their experiences and they view disappointments as developmental lessons. Optimists may or may not realize that this thinking pattern influences other areas of their lives, which leads to the following important positive side effects:

1. Because the optimists see life as an adventure, and they tend to seek new experiences, they are willing to try new things and meet new people. That opens a wide range of social, work and pleasurable opportunities for them.
2. Positive expectations of others lead the optimist to behave peacefully, openly, and actively which promotes goodwill and similar reactions from others, thus falling into the positive self-fulfilling prophecy cycle.
3. Optimists move through unfortunate events, but hardly stay with them. They use these events as lessons and move on immediately. Their memories filter out negative experiences and sensations. Optimists become subjected to long terms of happiness and tend to develop strong mental and physical health. Optimists are less likely to suffer from depression, but when they do, depression does not last long. They lead healthy lifestyles and have more fun.
4. Best of all, their expectations of most events in life become high, their lives, for the most part, is filled with excitement and joy.

In short, the optimistic thinking pattern doesn't merely enhance good times; it causes optimists to feel less stressful during life crises and it enriches their personal and work relationships. In other words, it brings happiness into their lives and the lives of the people they love. Is it a wonder that optimists tend to do better in most avenues of life?

Optimists tend to justify their attitude with good luck, but what they may not realize is that their fortune or life events, whether good or bad, are far less important than they think, and that their happiness is a result of their own mindsets and thinking pattern.

Note: I’m not talking here about irrational or blind optimism that leads to high risk behavior and falling into the life traps such as scams, drugs, crime or addictions. Like irrational cases of pessimism, unrealistic optimism leads to personal dysfunction.

The key question is: which group did you identify with the most?

Most people are somewhere in the middle. At different times of their lives, they move between the two ends of the scale, from being mildly to intensely pessimistic or mildly to intensely optimistic. What’s important is that with the knowledge of how your thinking is impacting your life, you now have a new alternative. By simply choosing to lead a happier lifestyle and continuously training your mind to think in positive patterns, you can improve your emotional well-being as well as the quality of your life immensely.

Important Message:
Optimism should not be confused with positive affirmations. Although this paper addresses pessimism and optimism as its main subject, real transformation and happiness is not the result of positive thinking. Positive thinking is the effect not the cause. Positive thinking or affirmations may or may not lead to change and if they do they are limited to temporary mood improvement. Only a change in your lifestyle will lead to a lasting change in your emotional health. The solution I found is to adopt the following transformation system:

• Re-examine your negative conditioning and programming (outlook, attitudes, values, associations, conclusions and belief system)

• Drop limiting values and associations and learn new positive ones

• Build a sustainable personal development system (mental, physical and social)

• Lead a new lifestyle to enforce your learning and the transformation of your personality and your life

It's not as difficult as it sounds: it only takes time and practice. You can change. I did.

How to be OPTIMISTIC

Optimism is measured by your explanatory style, or how you define events. If you can learn to define positive events as being a) because of something you did, b) a sign of more good things to come and c) evidence that good things will happen in other areas of your life, you’re halfway there. If you can also think of negative events as a) not your fault, and b) isolated occurrences that have no bearing on future events or other areas of your life, you’re the rest of the way there!

Time Required: Just a Few Extra Minutes

Here's How:

1. When something positive happens in your life, stop to analyze your thought process for a moment. Are you giving yourself due credit for making it happen? Think of all the strengths you possess and ways you contributed, both directly and indirectly, to make this event occur. For example, if you aced a test, don’t just think of how great it is that you were prepared, but also think of how your intelligence and dedication played a role.

2. Think of other areas of your life that could be affected by this good event. Also, think of how the strengths you possess that caused this good thing to happen can also cause other positive events in your life. For example, what other good things can come from your intelligence, dedication, and ability to effectively prepare for tasks?

3. Imagine what future possibilities could be in store. Because you hold the key to your success, shouldn’t you expect to do well on future tests? Isn’t a successful career a natural result.

4. When negative events occur, think of the extenuating circumstances that could have contributed to this happening. If you do poorly on an exam, for example, were you especially busy in the preceding week? Were you somewhat sleep deprived? What outside circumstances contributed to your failure? Keep in mind that this isn’t necessarily a reflection of personal weakness.

5. Also remember that you’ll have endless opportunities to do better in the future. Think of your next potential success, or other areas where you can excel.

Tips:

1. The key to optimism is to maximize your successes and minimize your failures.
2. It’s beneficial to look honestly at your shortcomings so you can work on them, but focusing on your strengths can never hurt.
3. Keep in mind that the more you practice challenging your thought patterns, the more automatic it'll become. Don't expect major changes in thinking right away, but do expect them to become ingrained over time.
4. Always remember that virtually any failure can be a learning experience, and an important step toward your next success!
5. Practice positive affirmations. They really work!

What You Need:

• A willingness to examine your thoughts.
• A few extra minutes to consistently reexamine your thought patterns.

Another way....

1. Let go of the assumption that the world is against you, or that you were born with a gray cloud over your head. It is an assumption that has no basis in reason or science. To believe that the universe or a spiritual entity has singled you out and shifted the world order just to make your life miserable is both self-centered and illogical. Be humble and stop pretending you've got the world all figured out. Sometimes bad experiences lead to good experiences, and you can't predict the future, so you can't assume it'll always be bad.
2. Look for the source of your pessimism. Deep-rooted negativity can often be traced to childhood experiences, when growing minds observe their circumstances and make presumptions about how the world functions. If all you saw growing up were disappointments, betrayals and failure, it's no surprise that now it's what you expect from the world as an adult. Sometimes we pick up a flair for pessimism from a parent who made negative assumptions about the world somewhere along the line. Either way, the sooner you can attribute your pessimism to a unique set of circumstances rather than the state of the world itself, the easier it'll be to change your perspective.
3. Understand that the past does not equal the future. Just because you've experienced pain or disappointment in the past does not guarantee that it's all you'll experience in the future. There were many things in your past that you couldn't control, and everybody comes across unfortunate circumstances at some point in their lives - you're no exception. But there are also many things in life we can control to one degree or another, and therein lies the possibility of change. A day or week that starts badly will not necessarily end badly. Do not make a bad start turn into a self fulfilling prophecy for a bad ending.
4. See yourself as a cause, not an effect. You don't have to be a product or a victim of your circumstances. Stop thinking about what is happening to you and start thinking about what you can make happen. If you're not happy with the way your life is now, set goals and move on. Use your past negative experiences to build character and make better decisions, instead of letting pessimism turn you into someone who avoids risk at all costs. Sometimes it is necessary to take risks to receive rewards. Moreover, taking no action is taking an action. It is better to play to win rather than merely to avoid losing.
5. Accept pain, failure and disappointment as a part of life, not the entirety of it. Life involves taking many risks every day, and not all of them will end positively. That's what defines risk. But the flip side is that some actions will lead to good results, and it's generally better to have a mixed bag than to have nothing at all. Ideally, the good stuff will outweigh the bad, but you'll never reach that point unless you put yourself out there and hope for the best. When in doubt, remember Lord Alfred Tennyson's words of wisdom:
   
   I hold it true, whate'er befall;
   I feel it, when I sorrow most;
   'Tis better to have loved and lost
   Than never to have loved at all.
6. Be thankful. Everyone has something to be grateful for. Make a list of the good things that have happened to you. If nothing instantly springs to mind, you aren't trying hard enough. The key to being an optimist is recognizing the benefits and possibilities of any situation, and understanding that it could always be worse. If all else fails, think of how life could be worse, and flip the thought process to recognize what you do have. For example: "I'm flunking out of school" can turn into "Well, at least I have a chance to go to school, and I still have time to turn my grades around." Get a notebook and a pen, and write down all the good things that you have. Every time you are feeling negative, read through them and remind yourself that it's not all bad.
7. Use positive affirmations. Write down short statements that remind you of what you're trying to change about the way you see the world. Put them in places where you'll see them every day, such as on your bathroom mirror, the inside of your locker, on your computer monitor, and even taped to your shower wall. Some affirmations to start with are:
   
   
   • "Anything is possible."
   • "I create my circumstances, my circumstances don't create me."
   • "The only thing I can control is attitude towards life."
   • "I always have a choice."
   • "I choose to live my positive side of life
8. Source: WikiHow

Links to follow up:

ezine article

The Key to Happiness

Book Plug: Learned Optimism

Buy it from Amazon....

Review:

Unlike most self help books Seligman's work is based on actual research. I would really recommend this book for people who are sick of the positive thinking movement but would still like some of the benefits. From the reviews here you might think this is just another Polyanna book. Seligman does not say that optimistic people are superior to others. In fact, he says that pessimists are more realistic. Optimists make good sales people, but you wouldn't want them to be elevator inspectors.

Seligman advocates mature optimism. Basically the higher the cost of being wrong, the more it pays to be a pessimist. With that said there are a host of benefits to be had from optimism.

Benefits:

lower stress levels and the tons of health benefits associated with it, more enjoyable life, longer life, better performance....the list goes on and on

http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology

Health Benefits of Optimism

People who learn to maintain an optimistic attitude may not only avoid depression, they may actually improve their physical health, according to a controlled study by the University of Pennsylvania's Martin Seligman, Ph.D., and Gregory Buchanan, Ph.D.

The study shows that university freshmen who participated in a workshop on cognitive coping skills reported fewer adverse physical problems and took a more active role in maintaining their health.

In the study, incoming freshmen were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to reflect their overall attitudes and coping behaviors.

Seligman and Buchanan invited those students identified as the most pessimistic to participate in the study. Students were randomly assigned to attend either the 16-hour workshop or a control group.

Workshop participants learned to dispute their chronic negative thoughts as well as learned social and work skills that can help avert depression.

Findings of Depression
After an 18-month follow-up, the preliminary findings showed that 22 percent of the workshop participants had suffered moderate or severe depression by blind clinical diagnosis, compared with 32 percent of the control group subjects.

Also, only 7 percent of the workshop participants suffered from a moderate or severe anxiety disorder, compared with 15 percent of the control group.

Workshop participants also reported fewer health problems during the course of the workshop, and were more likely than control subjects to see a physician for maintenance or checkups rather than wait until they became ill. While the subjects were young and generally healthy, Buchanan speculated the study could be replicated using older more vulnerable subjects.

Source of the article above:

Benefits of Optimism

Superior Health

In a study of 99 Harvard University students, those who were optimists at age 25 were significantly healthier at ages 45 and 60 than those who were pessimists. Other studies have linked a pessimistic explanatory style with higher rates of infectious disease, poor health, and earlier mortality.

Greater Achievement

Seligman analyzed the explanatory styles of sports teams and found that the more optimistic teams created more positive synergy and performed better than the pessimistic ones. Another study showed that pessimistic swimmers who were led to believe they’d done worse than they had were prone to future poor performance. Optimistic swimmers didn’t have this vulnerability.

Research like this has led some companies to go out of their way to hire optimists -- a practice that seems to be paying off.

Persistence

Optimists don’t give up as easily as pessimists, and they are more likely to achieve success because of it. Some optimistic businessmen, like Donald Trump, have been bankrupt (even multiple times), but have been able to persist and turn their failures into millions.

Emotional Health

In a study of clinically depressed patients, it was discovered that 12 weeks of cognitive therapy (which involves reframing a person's thought processes) worked better than drugs, as changes were more long-lasting than a temporary fix. Patients who had this training in optimism had the ability to more effectively handle future setbacks.

Increased Longevity

In a retrospective study of 34 healthy Hall of Fame baseball players who played between 1900 and 1950, optimists lived significantly longer. Other studies have shown that optimistic breast cancer patients had better health outcomes than pessimistic and hopeless patients.

Less Stress

Optimists also tend to experience less stress than pessimists or realists. Because they believe in themselves and their abilities, they expect good things to happen. They see negative events as minor setbacks to be easily overcome, and view positive events as evidence of further good things to come. Believing in themselves, they also take more risks and create more positive events in their lives.

Using Optimism

The following advice is taken from Professor Martin Seligman's books Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness.

Be optimistic, and consciously use optimism building techniques –

• If you are in an achievement situation (getting a promotion, selling a product, writing a difficult report, winning a game)
• If you are concerned about how you will feel (fighting off depression, keeping up your morale)
• If the situation is apt to be protracted and your physical health is an issue
• If you want to lead and inspire others.

Don’t use optimism techniques –

• If your goal is to plan for a risky and uncertain future
• If your goal is to counsel others whose future is dim don’t use optimism initially
• If you want to appear sympathetic to the troubles of others don’t begin with optimism though you can work towards it when their confidence picks up.

DO NOT USE OPTIMISM, OR ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO SO, WHEN THE COST OF FAILURE IS HIGH.

Learned optimism:



and

Optimism - tips and techniques

Tips and Techniques

Guidelines for using optimism

The following advice is taken from Professor Martin Seligman's books Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness.

ABCDE model (Learning to be Optimistic)

Learn to be optimistic using a technique based on Albert Ellis – Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. Professor Martin Seligman has elaborated on this in his book 'Authentic Happiness'

Various methods to build optimism and challenge pessimistic thoughts

Dr Karen Reivich is co-author of The Optimistic Child with Professor Martin Seligman. In a lecture for the Vanguard PRogramme for the Centre she outlined various methods to challenge pessimistic thinking and build optimism and resilience.

The Life Orientation Test Revised (lot-r)

The following questionnaire has been devised by M. F. Sheier, C. S. Carver and M.W. Bridges to measure an individual's level of optimism. Within the next few weeks you will be able to complete the questionnaire on-line on this site and get a result. In the meantime you can review the questionnaire.