Optimism Vs. Pessimism - And How to be a “Real Optimist”

Posted in Perspective · Self Improvement |  Email This Post | by James Rick

A common misconception is that optimism means ignoring facts and pessimism means being real about them. That’s why you’ll often here a ‘pessimist’ say - “I’m just being real about it” or you’ll hear an optimist say “There is a five thousand pound elephant standing on my foot but I’m trying to think positive about it.” ..

First of all - DON’T DENY THE FACTS. The facts are facts. But don’t confuse facts with perspective.

FACT - Someone close to me has died
PERSPECTIVE - It’s an unfortunate event

FACT - I lost an arm
PERSPECTIVE - It’s a tragedy

FACT - I lost one million dollars
PERSPECTIVE - What a horrible mistake

FACT - A person with whom I was committed had sex with another person
PERSPECTIVE - I have been betrayed

Now here’s the key distinction: A pessimist takes a fact (which is neutral) and spins them into a negative - then they call that reality. An optimist takes a fact and either ignores it, or spins it into a positive without dealing with it first - then at some point they might give up positive thinking because they think ‘it doesn’t work’ - like it was a trick that could stop challenging events from occurring.

Being ‘real’ means being fully aware of the FACTUAL reality - WITHOUT making a judgment. Try to get the full picture before you make a judgment. Then if its an immediate issue, ‘deal’ with it immediately. If you put your hand on a hot stove, don’t think positive about it - just deal with it. Afterward when you reflect on what happened before you make a judgment like “I’m so stupid” or “I always put my hand on hot stoves” use the default question: “What is valuable about this experience?” (I won’t put my hand on hot stoves, I”ll avoid giant 5,000 lb elephants and I’ll appreciate the hands and feet that I have.)

By:
1) honoring facts
2) taking immediate action to deal with immediate conflicts and
3) reflecting on events in a way that will help you extract the most value from them
you’ll be a “real optimist’. As a “real optimist’ you’ll have have ‘better luck’ and it won’t be a trick of positive thinking.

One Response to “Optimism Vs. Pessimism - And How to be a “Real Optimist””

1. Amalia Says:
   October 28th, 2008 at 4:30 pm

   This is great info to know.

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