I think pessimism gets a bad rap.
Humans evolved to have a habit of pessimism (i.e. “negativity bias”) because that helped us, as a species, be able to anticipate and prepare for future threats to survival – threats like warring tribes and dwindling food supplies.
We wouldn’t be here today without the pessimism of our ancestors.
Not discounting the survival benefits of pessimism (and there are many), there is a point at which pessimism delivers diminishing returns.
In fact, the “returns” of excessive pessimism actually become counterproductive for our survival.
In other words, the solution becomes the saboteur.
Predicting turns into preoccupation. Preparing turns into panic.
👉 The link between pessimism → stress → disease has been well established.
And…
We’ve all heard that Optimism has been shown to result in improved physical health, mental health, productivity, relationships, and resilience (to name a few).
Which is why we are often told by others to (insert eye roll 🙄) “Just be optimistic.”
Does that approach work? Of course not.
Why? Because we are not wired for optimism.
And, frankly, it would not be useful (even if it were possible) to be 100% optimistic.
We need pessimism – just the right amount of it.
And…
We need optimism – just the right amount of it.
Think of pessimism like vitamin E.
The right amount of vitamin E is useful in protecting cells from damage caused by free radicals, supporting immune function, and maintaining healthy skin, blood vessels, and brain function.
However, excessive doses (overdosing) of vitamin E can increase the risk of bleeding and strokes, including bleeding in the brain.
Since pessimism is our birthright (part of our default operating system), and since we are bombarded by input (media, friends, family) which strengthens our pessimism habit, most of us are overdosed on pessimism!
What we need to reverse the overdose is the right balance of pessimism and optimism.
Bad news: Optimism isn’t a switch that flips on command.
Good news: Optimism can become a habit that develops over time so that you can experience it routinely and reliably and watch it counterbalance the default pessimism habit.
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