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Compare and contrast pessimistic and optimistic
Compare and contrast pessimistic and optimistic
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It has become a very typical concept in numerous societies across the world, a question immune to language barriers, whether it varies in the definition or not; it's really the same. “Are you an optimist or a pessimist?” I am certain that I am not the only one who’s heard this question before. I am just as certain I am not the only one who has been influenced by whether or not we perceive ourselves as optimistic or pessimistic. Seems rather harmless at first, right? However, we have never been so oblivious to a present problem.The way we process certain situations and how we decide to take action has changed over the past century. This statement begs answers to the following questions: What exactly is this new mindset, is it affecting us positively or negatively, what initially caused it and can it be stopped? …show more content…
However, the filtration of our thoughts has never been to this extent. We are not inherently optimistic or pessimistic. We haven’t always seen the world through these lenses, the world we live in is not simply black and white. It’s a plethora of grey shades tinted and tainted with every single colour imaginable. Though we do display the ability to utilize common sense and register a situation as good or bad, we are not wired to react to the situation in a certain way. Another factor present today is optimism bias, which is the tendency of individuals to underestimate the likelihood that they will encounter adversity during their life. There are numerous opinions on the matter, is the optimism bias we display beneficial to us or is it actually more harmful than we
Optimism is a necessary quality for the average person. It allows one to strive for the best and persevere. But, can there be such thing as too much optimism? Can it blind individuals from the harsh truths of the world? The answer to both of these questions is yes; as is exemplified by the novel Don Quixote as well as numerous instances in history, Optimism overshadows the more realistic negative consequences of achieving a dream. Protagonist Alonso Quesada, self-dubbed knight-errant Don Quixote, embarks on a rather ill conceived journey in search of a quest. Upon seeing the windmills as giants, Quixote opportunistically takes advantage of the situation and attacks the harmless contraptions resulting in his inevitable defeat. However, the moment that shows the reader the optimistic
Optimism was an attractive to many because it answered a profound philosophical question: if God is omnipotent and benevolent, then why is there so much evil in the world? Optimism provides an easy way out: God has made everything for the best, and even though one might experience personal misfortune, God (via your misfortune) is still helping the greater good.
However, happiness also takes into account a wide range of other aspects of our lives, including our thoughts and actions, and even genetics. Therefore, happiness should be defined as the amalgamation of how we think and act, and how we interpret our experiences as positive or negative. What this means is that in order to become happier, we must simply force ourselves to become more optimistic. This is easier said than done, however. In order to have a noticeable increase in happiness, people must be willing to make lifestyle changes in addition to changing their mindset. However, the difference between optimism and delusion is a fine line, so people must be cautious to not exaggerate the positive parts of an experience or become overly optimistic. If we practice seeking out the positive views of our circumstances, with time we will find ourselves happier than
Michael F. Scheier and Charles S Carver say, “Psychologists have approached the notion of positive thinking from a variety of perspectives. Common to most viewers, thought, Is the idea that positive thinking is some way involved holding positive expectancies for one’s futures”. Well, that being said, when one is becoming too optimistic and positive, the won 't be prepared for events that will come to them. Ehrenreich says, “Sometimes we need to heed our fears and negative thoughts, and at all times we need to be alert to the world outside ourselves, even when that included absorbing bad news and entertaining the views of “negative” people” (204). In my opinion, I think it is very important to watch the news, some may think differently. According to the Huffington post, a blogger advised, “Studies show that you will sleep better with less news intake late at night” (193). With studies shows that you will sleep better because one isn’t getting the bad news intake that keeps you up all night thinking about it, that is one’s choice to watch the certain news they are watching. I think everyone should be aware of their surroundings, one cannot just be so optimistic because events like the great depression, 911 and other disasters that happened in America would have come more prepared as if you were being too positive nothing is going to go wrong
There’s optimism in all literature known to man if not optimism then it would be pessimism. They are the basis of any literature work. It’s found in many books and poems today. In the novel Fahrenheit451 by Ray Bradbury evaluates the theme of optimism. The author Ray Bradbury writes about a guy named Montag who is in a society where firemen burn houses instead of putting fires out. Montag seeks out the good in the books which are banned in this dystopian society where knowledge is forbidden to rise from society. He and other literature seekers pave the way for him to learn knowledge and the freedom of thinking which is against the law in this society. Montag falls in love with books so much that he tries to find someone who can teach him about the books and how important they are to life. The world would fall apart without knowledge no one would have a clue on what to do or how to eat since they don’t have that knowledge at hand. Optimism can also be found in the William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus”, Freedom to Breathe” by Alexander Solzheitsynand and in the speech “The Nobel acceptance by Elie Wiesel.
...too optimistic can result in sadness and despair. Optimism also has the power to blind us from seeing the harsh and cruel realities in life. Optimists focus exclusively on the bright side of life and tend to avoid all the cruel realities. However, when the time comes to face a harsh reality, optimists are unprepared and fail. Wiesel makes this argument to show us the negative effects of optimism. For example, the belief that drinking and driving or speeding is not going to end fatally. Optimists have the mindset of “death is something that happens to others.” Drinking and driving and speeding blind the driver from realizing there is a possibility of death. These optimistic people are the most likely to die due to the fact that they are not aware of this possibilities. Wiesel would agree that optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.
This shows that positive thinking can get in the way of all your hopes and dreams. You may have an image of a life that seems perfect, but you need to be able to separate that from reality and not get the two mixed. It sometimes blinds you from the true reality. Also in the same text, it stated ‘’the pressure of positive thinking can result in suppressing any pessimistic thoughts or unpleasant emotions because they might attract bad things. You deprive yourself of access to the complete picture and the full range of emotions.
If someone thinks negatively towards something the outcome will not be good, and vice versa. Thinking you can achieve the American dream is a major key in doing so, and some Americans are already on the right track. In the U.S., a survey showed that 36 percent of Americans say they have achieved the dream, and another 46 percent believe they are on the path of achieving it. It is not so easy, though, to always look on the bright side. Sometimes it seems as if nothing is going right; that is when negativity occurs. People can argue that mindset has little impact on the outcome, or that it does not matter how positive a person is because some things are just not meant to be. An article, however, proves this wrong. The paper argues how negative emotions prevent humans from flourishing; it also states, “if your ratio of positive to negative emotions is greater than 2.9013 to one, you will flourish both physically and psychologically.” If a person believes in themselves, they are more likely to accomplish their
In the 2016 Presidential Election for the United States of America, majority of Americans thought it was merely impossible for candidate, Donald J. Trump, to win the presidency against his opponent Hillary Clinton. His win of the presidency was not expected by many, leaving most of America in a state of shock and anguish. It never occurred in the mindset of voters what if Trump actually won due to their preset judgements. Our biases stop us from making reasonable decisions because we only view one perspective on life. If we could view situations in more than one perspective, predictions about the future could be more accurate.
I am what my parents and friends define me as a “sandbagger”. I go into tests saying, “I am going to fail. I should change my major. My world is ending.” Then, I would come out of my test saying similar phrases. More often than not I receive my scores back to find that I had successfully prepared myself for the exam, and that I can continue on panicking for the next world ending test. Grant covered this phenomenon, which I was not aware was a phenomenon, towards the end of his book. Grant calls it “The Power of Negative Thinking”. Essentially there are two major ways to prepare for handling challenges. One, strategic optimism, is where an individual anticipates the best. The second, defensive pessimism, is the opposite, where an individual excepts the worst. I am without a doubt a defensive pessimist. Grant goes on to explain, that although the pessimist is usually more anxious and less confident, they preform just as well if not better than the optimist. After reading this section I felt relieved that I was not just irrational, but there was a method to my madness so to say, even though it does drive my parents and friends crazy. Of all the interesting points made in this book, this is the one I was most excited about, because I connected with this argument on a personal
Many people are asked the question if they are optimist and they will usually respond yes, no, or something else ,but what actually is an optimist, and is a good thing? Today optimist is defined as someone who always sees the bright side of any situation — a trait that can be either encouraging or annoying, depending on your frame of mind. In the enlightenment an optimist was defined as someone who believed that everything happened for the greater good, because of God. Many great writers of the enlightenment period,such as Voltaire, created literary works to criticize the overly optimistic society in which they lived in. One notable literary piece that specifically addressed optimism during the enlightenment was the book Candide.
“The optimism bias stands guard. It’s in charge of keeping our minds at ease and our bodies healthy. It moves us forward, rather than to the nearest high-rise rooftop.”– Sharot. In this quotation, Sharot shares her belief that we have a tendency to overestimate positive events that will happen in our life, this is the optimism bias; and this tendency keeps us living. It is also a long-term effect and not a short term one. Researchers have long discussed the question of why we still have an unrealistic optimism even though reality throws events at us that could change our view and believes. They have found that indeed, people tend to be optimistic about themselves, they also accept an information that has positive implication for them more easily that one that has negative implication for them. But do we have evidence that people have an unrealistically optimistic view of themselves; in other words, do they never predict that something negative will
Have you ever questioned yourself about what weighs more on the scale? Hope or fear? Could fear, the belief that something is dangerous or threatening, really overpower hope? Fear, which leads to over awareness and too many extra precautions can’t possibly be stronger than hope. Hope gives a person something to look forward to if they set a reasonable expectation; while fear usually just offers a very grave insight to the future. Fear always leads to a negative view on events and provides no aid in trying to solve a problem. Usually fear even makes problems seem worse than they actually are. There are many reasons as to why hope is stronger and provides more of aid than fear, but the three strongest views on this statement are that,
Athletic.Talented.Intelligent. These are just a few words that describe me.They are what my everyday experiences and actions represent in my life. But there is one word that describes me a little bit more. Because of the experiences I have had in my life so far, it is clear to see that I am optimistic.
The world is made up of optimist and pessimists, and the survival of human beings and our well-being requires a balance between optimism and pessimism. Disproportionate pessimism makes life unbearable; however, too much optimism can advance to dangerously hazardous behaviors. The Optimism and pessimism approach is expecting a positive or negative future outcome, a recognizable way of reasoning is best conceptualized as continuity with many amounts of optimism and pessimism. Successful living requires a great balance between optimism and pessimism. Too much optimism may embolden one to take uncalculated risks that will lead to inadvertent and reckless behaviors, which may conclude in a catastrophe. On the contrary, worrying too much about