Why being a pessimist isn't so bad

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How we love to evaluate other people. But you can't call someone pessimists, as if insulting them, and optimists, trying to compliment them. This is silly, and I'll explain why below.

Anyone can answer the question of who are optimists and pessimists. An optimist sees every event from a positive point of view, and a pessimist from a negative point of view. Moreover, the optimist thinks the problems are temporary, while the pessimist thinks they are permanent.

More interesting is how we become them. There are many answers: genetic predisposition, national mentality, types of temperament. I stick to parenting theory. We were all children, and each of us was raised in a particular setting. I think this is what affects the most.

Why is it important

Because it is believed that optimism is good and pessimism is bad, and this is fundamentally wrong. For years, psychologists and researchers have been trying to figure out who is better and what is more harmful, but we have not received a definite answer. And I think that we will never get it. The world needs both.

Optimism

Why is it good to be optimistic? First, because most people think that being an optimist is banal better, more convenient. Optimists are more comfortable in communication, and this is true. Many studies also show that optimists are healthier.

At Harvard University was attended by 99 people. All participants were pre-divided into two groups: optimists and pessimists. The study was long-term, and as a result, it turned out that the participants in the first group were significantly healthier between the ages of 45 and 60. The risk of contracting infectious diseases, heart and kidney diseases was significantly lower. Such studies are the best proof that our mental state has a very strong effect on the physical.

I liked the results even more. It was attended by professional swimmers.

As a result, it turned out that pessimistic swimmers show much worse results in the future due to the fact that they do not believe in themselves.

Pessimism

But there is good news for pessimists too. And I am sure that you will receive them with greater joy. Do you know why?

More often than not, pessimists don't expect good news, so they enjoy it more.

For the same reason, pessimists find it easier to cope with problems, because they are exactly what is expected. Pessimists respond more appropriately to criticism. They know nothing is perfect and are always ready to get better with the advice of others.

And here's what's strange. There is plenty of research to prove that optimists are much healthier than pessimists, and just as much research to prove the opposite.

For example, it has proven that pessimism leads to longer, healthier lives. It's hard not to believe him, because the number of participants in the study is 40,000 people.

Lange divided the participants into three age groups and asked them to rate their satisfaction with life now and predict it in five years. Five years after the first interview, Lang interviewed them again and got the following results:

• 43% of participants underestimated their future;
• 25% predicted their feelings accurately;
• 32% of participants overestimated it.

These data would not make any sense, if not for one thing: the percentage of people with diseases and poor health was much less among those who underestimated their future. Simply put, the pessimists were healthier.

Confrontation

Have you already figured out what all these studies and arguments show?

It is foolish to divide the world into "good" optimists and "bad" pessimists.

People who consider it their duty to ask you a question about why you are so pessimistic about life are amusing. It seems that they mentally put you on a par with criminals. Appreciating someone else's outlook on life is absolutely useless, stupid and meaningless. Only you yourself can say who you are, and I am sure that you have known the answer to this question for a long time.

And since you know him, tell us about your views on life.