Category: Optimism

One question in the world is, is there a fine line between optimism and reality? There are two kinds of people when it comes to these topics. An optimistic person thinks the best possible things will happen. They are confident and view the glass as half-full. They always look on the bright side of things. Realistic people view a situation as factual and true. They see things as they really are in a practical and sensible way.

Let’s say you wanted to get into a really good college. You’re well liked and very popular, you work hard, and you have high hopes of getting in. This is optimism. Although optimism is good, you need to think about how realistic you’re being. Being a hard worker is a good characteristic to have. However, a realistic person would make sure you had good grades and met all the requirements to be admitted. But if you don’t work very hard and you want to get into that really good college, then you need to make the situation more realistic. This is a situation where you need to be both optimistic and realistic to achieve your goals.

Another example of being optimistic and realistic is trying out for a musical performance. A few years ago, there was practice for auditions for a local musical play at the theater. There was a girl there that showed up for a few practices. She was confident in getting a part because she had been in a previous play, she knew the director, and was a great singer. She seemed like someone who was very optimistic about landing a part in the performance. However, from a realistic perspective there were lots of people trying out, there were many great singers, and there were lots of people with acting experience. So, a realistic person would believe that even thought, they put in a good effort and practiced hard, they still may not get a part in the play. In this situation it’s good to be optimistic about getting a part but, it’s also good to be realistic and realize that you might not always get what you want in life.

And one last example to understand the difference between an optimist and a realist. Let’s say you wanted to run a race. You run on a treadmill, people tell you you’re good at running, and you exercise every day. You think you can win the race, but you also need to look at the realistic side of the situation too. A realistic person would ask the questions, ‘Do you have good times when you run? Have you won races before? Do you practice every day and have good running shoes?’. Even if you answered yes to all these questions, you still have a chance of not winning. In this certain situation a person of optimism would think they will win the race. A realistic person would consider all the aspects of preparing for a race, but know that they may not always be the winner of the race.

So, is there a fine line between optimism and reality? The answer to that question is yes. Even though they are two very different perspectives on life, we still need to use both of them in certain situations. We need to have a balance between being optimistic and realistic. We need to have the confidence that you’re capable of doing many great things but also aware that things in life don’t always turn out the way you had thought they would.

When we hear the word optimism, we can get a sense of hope, confidence, or joy. Optimism is the hope for the future, the belief that everything will turn out favorably, it is seeing the glass as half full, not half empty. In this essay, I will talk about the reasons why we should adopt a more optimistic way of thinking, such as creating a welcoming environment for everyone, which helps us reach our full potential and helps us see new opportunities.

By using optimism, we can surround ourselves in a happier, more positive, and pleasant environment. Behavioral phycologists have found that happiness and positivity seem to have a snowball effect on people, and so does negatively and pessimism. That means that we have the power to affect the people around us and the environment we are in. Although making the choice to be that positive and enthusiastic person is not always the easiest thing to do, when we’re having a rough day, we may not feel like being an optimistic person. But making a conscience effort to be optimistic about things will leads to a better life overall.

Optimism allows us to reach our fullest potential. Naturally, many people appear to dwell on what is wrong with the world. We seem to underestimate our own abilities and shorten our expectations of what we are truly capable of achieving. Everyday tasks, decisions, and challenges can be approached in either a positive or negative way. We could go about these options by choosing to assume that things will not end up in your favor, and then follow through with that state of mind by performing those tasks in a way that is a limited display of your true capabilities. Or we could be optimistic and make decisions that we think exceed our true capabilities. It allows us to see our full potential and gives us the satisfaction of knowing that we are doing our best.

Another benefit to optimism is that it allows you to see new opportunities. Winston Churchill once said: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”. It is almost a guarantee that at some point in our life we’re going to face adversity, so we should use it to our advantage and evolve from it. Instead of dwelling on the difficulties we face, why not be grateful for all that we have. If we just take a moment out of our day and appreciate what we have instead of dwelling on what we don’t have, we will become a much happier person.

In conclusion, optimism should be an important consideration to all because, by having an optimistic outlook on life, it creates a pleasant environment for all. It causes people to realize their full potential. And optimism allows us to see new opportunities which we wouldn’t otherwise.

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world”. True words from Holocaust survivor, Ann Frank. Everyone at some time in their life is once told to be optimistic about something. Many of us have been told an analogy of optimism is to think of a glass half full instead of it being half empty which is another way of saying, you should not be pessimistic or I would like to call it, a ‘Debbie Downer’ or an ‘Eeyore’ from ‘Winnie the Pooh’. I can remember talking to my mother and grandmother about when things did not go my way. I still talk to them about this a lot. They would always give me words of encouragement and tell me to think positive thoughts or be ‘optimistic’. Thinking about others besides myself, I believe sometimes it can be difficult for people to be optimistic when life gets rough. An optimist sees the situation and decides to change it for the better. Just like when Helen Keller once said, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence”.

In the world, we see plenty of issues we have to deal with on a daily basis. Situations that range from bullying a classmate in school to fighting a war between different countries. Imagine a world where nothing bad ever happens again and life is just peaches and cream for everyone. This leads to the burning question, ‘When all the world’s problems are solved, is optimism still necessary?’. In this question, it is hardly likely all the world’s problems will be fixed in a snap of a finger like Thanos in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. This is possible but not common and most likely, this will occur gradually. Personally, I believe optimism would probably not exist in a perfect world due to the fact is nothing bad ever happened, there would be nothing to contradict someone’s faith in humanity, a higher power, the world in general and etcetera. Since reality does not operate this way and everyone has experiences trials in life to cause them to be optimistic, optimism is still so desperately needed. We have to be mentally prepared for another bad situation to happen. Even if it never does in an idealistic world, we have to be on guard and always be prepared so people can handle the situation without going into panic mode.

Some things can be fixed like a common cold and on the other hand, some things are harder to fix like a broken heart. Another thing to think about is, if all the world’s issues are solved, this still excludes the individual issues each person has such as depression, suicidal thoughts, failures, and other issues within one’s self. Some people may feel, “Okay…the world is fixed for the better, but what about me? I’m not happy at all”. People help make the world a great place, so how can you say all the world’s problems are fixed if the people living in it are not happy? You’d probably suggest just telling them to look at things on the bright side, but it’s more than that. It can be extremely difficult for someone to internalize that when they feel unhappy to a certain point that everything feels numb. We can always help people to learn from a situation and move on from it. This is so their life can be better for themselves. We can use this strategy to help ourselves too. To make the world better, we need to help all walks of life in the ways needed and necessary. It can be as little as talking to someone who has no family or friends or major as giving loads of money to those in need. This can contribute to giving someone hope and happiness that the world is a great place. We also need to defy all racial, gender, disability, economic, and religious divisions that separate the world.

Optimism should always take place until the revelation happens. We should give others something to hope for, so their optimism could possibly be stronger. The world can never change unless we change ourselves.

Whether all of the world’s problems are solved is irrelevant because the only way all of them could be solved is if humans no longer inhabited the Earth. By our very existence, we create problems for the world. We pollute oceans and air, create waste, use the Earth’s resources, and manipulate the environment for our own benefit. Therefore, problems exist because we do. It is key to stay optimistic even when you have no worries in the world because it allows you to be hopeful for the future rather than dwell on the past. Optimism is necessary in everyday life because it allows us to learn from our failures and come up with solutions to succeed.

Personally, I face instances where I must be optimistic almost every day of my life. As a student-athlete it is hard to balance school and sports when you miss numerous days of class due to early dismissals, traveling, and late night practices. For me, a normal weekday consists of a seven-hour school day, two-hour school practice, and then another hour and a half of club practice. Therefore, I have to go through the constant reminder that my hard work will eventually lead to success. Concentrating on the day to work can be exhausting so I try to maintain focus on my long-term goal of becoming a collegiate athlete. Every practice is an opportunity to better myself for the ultimate competition.

In sports, many experience injuries at some point and with an injury comes time for it to heal. However, once the doctor says you’re good to go and ready to play, you would think everything would be all better, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Sadly, I have had this forlorn realization several times. As a soccer player, I have had many leg injuries. A couple years back I hurt my MCL and the worst part about it was that the only thing that could heal it was time. When you come back realizing that you are at your worst and have to re-establish everything you’ve previously worked hard for, it is hard to stay positive, but it is key to stay optimistic in order to keep moving forward. Having the ability to continue to strive towards an end goal even when things get hard is vital. I learned that with the correct mindset of positivity and fortitude, those crucial goals can be achieved, as long as you remain hopeful and optimistic. Everyone experiences setbacks from time to time, so optimism always has to be in the back of your mind. Whether it’s the obstacles that sports present or the ones that naturally come with having a disability, negative influences come along, but the ability to see the potential in the future will lift you above the difficult times.

An optimistic mindset has propelled many athletes into being better, whether that may be developing a new skill or even winning a game. Although, one who has optimism could also face results and outcomes that are less than perfect, they are more likely to learn from their defeat and eventually achieve their end goal. For example, I have definitely faced results that have fallen short of my expectations. In the past two years of high school, my teams have managed to experience three championship games and lost each time. It obviously was not results I wanted, but I realized that it is important to stay optimistic now more than ever. Although some people may argue that you are remembered by your last game or performance, what I learned from those experiences could not be measured by a score board. It is essential to remain optimistic because it helps us spot new opportunities, learn from difficult situations, and stay on a path of accomplishment and self-actualization. Rarely does a person achieve their dreams and ambitions without a growth mindset because without it, there is no belief that you can overcome failure. Every road to greatness is paved with losses that serve as the building blocks to accomplishment.

Even when all the world’s problems are solved, hurdles and obstacles are continuously forming. Therefore, there will be times when you fall short of accomplishing what was planned. It’s natural for us to beat ourselves up when we don’t reach our expectations, but it is important to get over it, because there’s nothing you can do once it’s in the past. A saying my team uses is ‘next play’ because the ability to look beyond the frustration that failure brings is extremely crucial to happiness. Ruminating about it wastes the time you could spend living in the moment or preparing for the future.

Conflicts can arise in a person’s life at any point in life, whether personal level conflicts that exist in a person’s mind or socio-economic level conflicts that exist in the external environment. Nobody is immune to conflict in their life. Conflict is defined as a struggle or a clash between opposing forces. People can deal with conflict mentally and physically. A positive mental attitude is very important in life. The term ‘optimism’ embraces two closely correlated concepts: the first is the inclination to hope, while the second more generally refers to the tendency to believe that we live in ‘the best of all possible worlds’. The inclination of hope in a person’s mind is actual optimism which leads him towards self-growth and progress. Optimism is related to mental and physical health, coping, quality of life, and adaptation of purpose.

Optimistic and pessimistic attitudes constantly affect the outcome of people’s lives. As Winston Churchill’s famous quote says:

‘A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity and an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty

In my life, I try to keep an optimistic attitude about the things I do because I know it will help lead me to more desirable ends. There have been many situations in which optimism has helped me through difficult times. Academics have provided me with many optimistic experiences. When I did badly in one of my final terms exams in the third semester and I was terrified of the outcome, I also had an exam the next day which I still had to prepare therefore instead of staying pessimistic about that exam, I developed an optimistic attitude that even though I couldn’t perform better in this exam I can still ace the others proceeding. This way I gave my best performance in the remaining exams, and as a result, I obtained higher grades in other exams. I was able to maintain my GPA through this optimistic attitude. If I opted for the pessimistic explanatory style in this situation by blaming my performance on the difficult exam or short-listed time for preparation, I would have performed poorly in other exams too.

A significant positive relation emerges between optimism and coping strategies focused on social support and emphasis on positive aspects of stressful situations. Optimism can thus increase a person’s self-esteem and self-growth, if applied correctly in life situations as an optimistic person always tries to find a way through without making excuses and procrastinating because it’s now evident to him that a balance between adversity, belief, consequences, and energization only can lead him towards the accomplishment of his goals. Through the employment of specific coping strategies, optimism exerts an indirect influence also on the quality of life. There is evidence that optimistic people present a higher quality of life compared to those with low levels of optimism or even pessimists. Optimism may significantly influence mental and physical well-being through the promotion of a healthy lifestyle as well as by adaptive behaviors and cognitive responsesConflicts can arise in a person’s life at any point of life whether personal level conflicts that exist in a person’s mind or socio-economic level conflicts that exists in the external environment. Nobody is immune to conflict in their life. Conflict is defined as a struggle or a clash between opposing forces. People can deal with conflict mentally and physically. A positive mental attitude is very important in life. The term ‘optimism’ embraces two closely correlated concepts: the first is the inclination to hope, while the second more generally refers to the tendency to believe that we live in ‘the best of all possible worlds’. The inclination of hope in a person’s mind is actually optimistic which leads him towards self-growth and progress. Optimism is related to mental and physical health, coping, quality of life, and adaptation of purpose.

Optimistic and pessimistic attitudes constantly affect the outcome of people’s lives. As Winston Churchill’s famous quote says:

‘A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity and an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty

In my life, I try to keep an optimistic attitude about the things I do because I know it will help lead me to more desirable ends. There have been many situations in which optimism has helped me through difficult times. Academics have provided me with many optimistic experiences. When I did badly in one of my final terms exams in the third semester and I was terrified of the outcome but I also had an exam the next day which I still had to prepare therefore instead of staying pessimistic about that exam, I developed an optimistic attitude that even though I couldn’t perform better in this exam I can still ace the others proceeding. This way I gave my best performance in the remaining exams as a result I obtained higher grades in other exams. I was able to maintain my GPA through this optimistic attitude. If I opted for the pessimistic explanatory style in this situation by blaming my performance on the difficult exam or short-listed time for preparation I would have performed poorly in other exams too.

A significant positive relation emerges between optimism and coping strategies focused on social support and emphasis on positive aspects of stressful situations. Optimism can thus increase a person’s self-esteem and self-growth, if applied correctly in life situations as an optimistic person always tries to find a way through without making excuses and procrastinating because it’s now evident to him that a balance between adversity, belief, consequences, and energization only can lead him towards the accomplishment of his goals. Through the employment of specific coping strategies, optimism exerts an indirect influence also on the quality of life. There is evidence that optimistic people present a higher quality of life compared to those with low levels of optimism or even pessimists. Optimism may significantly influence mental and physical well-being by the promotion of a healthy lifestyle as well as by adaptive behaviors and cognitive responses, associated with greater flexibility, problem-solving capacity, and a more efficient elaboration of negative information. But one should also not adopt unrealistic optimism in life which happens when one tries to conclude a positive outcome every time even if it’s visibly impossible because it’s the denying of reality that will only make a person devoid of the responsibilities coming along with the conflict. to conclude a positive outcome every time even if it’s visibly impossible because it’s the denying of reality that will only make a person devoid of the responsibilities coming along with the conflict.

According to a London-based neurologist who wrote the book ‘Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain’, roughly 80% of the human population is naturally optimistic. It’s just unknown to most of us. So why is that we often have a negative view on how the world has changed over the last decades and centuries? Why we are so pessimistic about our collective future? The pessimist will argue that he or she isn’t a pessimist, but a ‘realist’. So why is it that true happiness comes through positive thinking?

For a pessimist, happiness comes from acceptance- the acceptance of the negative reality. Instead of trying to rid your mind of all negative imagery, they embrace it, watching the negative thoughts drift in and out of your mind without trying to drown them out. But is this really where true happiness lies? It might be that the key to true happiness is seeing every cloud with a silver lining, in other words being optimistic. People who are optimistic expect more positive events to occur in their lives than negative and that’s one of the reasons it’s been shown that optimists are happier. Well-being and satisfaction are tied to optimism. It’s mostly because of this anticipation of positive or negative. Optimism gives you a reason to live – it creates a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction and creates a positive anticipation of the future.

A cheerful temperament can undeniably help you get through the rough patches that cloud every life, but do people who see the glass half-full also enjoy better health than those who see it half-empty? Yes. Pessimists may state that people who view their life optimistically ‘don’t see the dangers in life until it’s too late’, but the truth is that optimists know more about their own health and about how to be healthy. According to several studies, the simple ability of being positive can improve your physiological and psychological wellbeing. These studies show that optimism seems to have an important role in the association between feelings of loss of hope, depression and suicidal thoughts. For instance, an American study analyzed 6,959 students who underwent a personality test when they entered the University of North Carolina in the mid-1960s. In the course of the next 40 years, 476 of the people died from a variety of causes, with cancer being the most common. Overall, pessimism took a substantial toll; the most pessimistic individuals had a 42% higher rate of death than the most optimistic.

Whilst some say that optimists set themselves up to fail with their unrealistic dreams, others believe that it’s the driving force that leads you to the path of success. Pessimistic ideas have been vigorously challenged in recent years due to it bringing a negativity in life preventing a person from confronting setbacks that are bound to occur in life. When facing a setback, optimists use more effective methods to deal with it, which enhances various coping skills developed in order to combat life’s struggles. It forges persistence; an essential trait required for achieving success. It enables you to handle and put your emotions in check. It allows you to deal with failure constructively.

Sir Winston Churchill states, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”. So, don’t ask why? Ask why not?

Optimism can be viewed as an attitude or mood that is associated with an individual’s expectation about the social or material future. It has been theorized and assessed in many ways, linking it to positive aspects of an individual’s life such as mood, morale, health, academia and occupational success. There is no single optimism as it is dependent on what is desirable to the individual and is based on the evaluation and beliefs of ones given affects and emotions (Peterson, 2000). Subjective well-being reflects an individual’s personal judgement on their own quality of life and can be defined by the ratings of life satisfaction and positive emotional experience (Baumgardner, 2016). This paper will look at the extent to which optimism is related to subjective well-being. It will discuss a method that can be used to evaluate an individual’s optimism as well as an integration of the intervention exercise ‘best possible self’. Further, it will look at how the intervention exercise can be applied to a counselling setting and finish with a summary of topic optimism and its connection to subjective well-being.

Optimism can be linked to happiness and life satisfaction, as optimist tend to be upbeat, happy and satisfied with their lives (Baumgardner, 2016). It can generally be considered to be a personality trait. Positive and negative expectations about the future shows consistent patterns that relate to the measures of wellbeing (Baumgardner, 2016). Specifically, the fact that an optimist expects good outcomes links optimism to positive emotion. This attitude can contribute to a positive state of mind and to more flexible, creative and resilient responses in the face of a challenge (Baumgardner, 2016). Further, research has exhibited that optimists are satisfied with life. Through having an optimistic view of one’s future will affect their circumstances because in order to accomplish the expectancy to do well, they will work more effectively and persevere to achieve more. Therefore, optimists are more likely to achieve life goals and consequently achieving a greater sense of wellbeing (Sharpe, Martin, & Roth, 2011).

Although some studies show that optimism can be linked to life satisfaction, it has also been shown to have no direct effect on the level of satisfaction with life. Instead, it suggests that it acts as a buffer or moderator to neurotic tendencies in terms of decreasing psychological distress to enhance satisfaction with life.

The differences in these results could be that most studies that examined the role of optimism have used western samples, resulting in providing only a narrow understanding. Other factors accounting for these differences in findings include individual differences, personal resources, cultural or social contexts. As high levels of negative life events can influence an individual’s levels of optimism. Differences in outcomes could also be a result of the use of different measuring tools that measure the same construct (Jibeen, 2014).

Based on literature reviewed and evaluated it has been demonstrated that majority of the research provided displays a connection between optimism and life satisfaction and subjective well-being. As high levels of optimism signify high levels of life satisfaction and positive emotional experience.

Integration

Optimism can be measured using the Life Orientation Test. It is a six item self-report measure, with four filler items, that assesses generalized expectations for positive versus negative outcomes. The test uses a five-point response scale ranging from 0 (I disagree a lot) to 4 (I agree a lot), allowing respondents to indicate a level of agreement with the provided statements. Out of the six items, three were worded in a positive direction and three were worded in a negative direction, with negative worded items being reverse scored. Item scores were calculated to represent an overall optimism score out of twenty-four, with higher scores signifying greater optimism (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994).

On 25th of July 2019 I undertook the Life Orientation Test and scored 7 out of 24. To improve on my optimism, I implemented an intervention of visualizing my best possible self. Each day I set aside 30 minutes to visualize and write down my vision of my best possible self into a journal. It allowed me to visualize all of the futures that I can imagine for myself and restructure my goals and priorities to improve my own insights on my motives and emotions (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006). At the conclusion of a five-week period on Thursday the 29th of August 2019, my post intervention score increased to almost double with it being 13 out of 24.

This clearly demonstrates that the intervention resulted in a change in test scores. The intervention allowed myself to focus on my future and create any possibilities that related to my aspirations through visualization. Research has shown that daily imagery of best possible selves can lead to sustained increases in optimism. Visualization involves a deeper cognitive processing compared to written or verbalization (Meevissen, Peters, & Alberts, 2011). These results are not only applied to participants low in optimism but people high in optimism profited from the intervention (Meevissen, Peters, & Alberts, 2011). When conducting the exercise, I was able to identify connections between each attempt and set small goals that will help me achieve my best possible self. Disclosive writing has been linked to creating numerous benefits for well-being, health and emotional (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006). Mental simulation of a positive scenario has been proposed to lead to increased levels of confidence for success and increased levels of self-esteem (Meevissen, Peters, & Alberts, 2011). The intervention exercise ‘best possible self’ allows an individual to improve self-regulation through learning about oneself and clarifying and restructuring one’s priorities or goals to reduce goal conflict and gain a feeling of control (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006). If expectancies of eventual success of set goals are favorable, a person’s effort to overcome adversity can be engaged (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994). Overall, an increase in positive expectancies can subsequently lead to reciprocal alterations and reinforcements of other positive cognitions and resources (Meevissen, Peters, & Alberts, 2011). Through the use of this exercise practitioners can prompt the highest degree of self-concordant motivation and increase positive mood and subjective well-being for their clients (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006).

Application

The ‘best possible self’ exercise can be applied in counselling setting to create consistent imagery of a positive future scenario and boost levels of optimism. It can also be used when working towards generating goals. Clients can be presented with the option of writing narrative descriptions of their best possible selves for 20 minutes, throughout a period of time best suited, each time following up from what was previously written (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006). Practitioners can provide their clients with a manual that provides a step-by-step guide on improving visualization skills (Meevissen, Peters, & Alberts, 2011). The client should think about the future as if all their goals have been accomplished and everything has turned out in the most optimal way. Through these descriptions the client can create goals in order to work towards their best possible self. They will identify the best possible ways life can turn out in the future in order to help guide their decisions now.

Discussion and Summary

This paper looked at the extent to which optimism is related to subjective well-being. Majority of the findings were similar in linking the concepts together. As optimism enhances positive emotion, an individual’s personal judgement on their own quality of life increases as well as their life satisfaction. High levels of optimism can signify high levels of life satisfaction and positive emotional experience, whereas an individual’s negative view on life events can decrease the levels of optimism and therefore decreasing levels of life satisfaction and positive emotion. The current literature reviewed showed that optimism is not only directly related to subjective well-being but can also act as a buffer to neurotic tendencies to enhance satisfaction with life. Further investigation should address gaps in literature by account for individual differences, personal resources, cultural or social contexts.

Optimism can be measured using the Life Orientation Test which allows individuals to assess generalized expectations for positive versus negative outcomes. The overall optimism score was out of twenty-four, with higher scores signifying greater optimism (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994).

The intervention ‘best possible self’ can be seen as an exercise that can increase an individual’s level of optimism within the Life Orientation Test. It allows an individual to clarifying and restructure their goals to reduce goal conflict and gain a feeling of control consequently improving self-regulation (Meevissen, Peters, & Alberts, 2011). The positive results within visualizing your best self demonstrates that participants with low and high optimism can profit from this intervention. This exercise can be applied in counselling setting to create consistent imagery of a positive future scenario, boost levels of optimism and increase positive mood (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006).

In conclusion, the concept optimism can directly and indirectly relate to subjective well-being. As optimism focuses on the enhancement of positive attitude or mood that is associated with the individual’s life expectations, directly effecting their subjective well-being.

References

1. Baumgardner. (2016). Chapter 3: Positive Emotions and Well-Being. In Positive Psychology: PSY1010 (pp. 46-52). P.Ed Custom Books.
2. Baumgardner. (2016). Chapter 9: Positive Traits. In Positive Psychology: PSY1010 (pp. 193-194). P.Ed Custom Books.
3. Jibeen, T. (2014). Personality Traits and Subjective Well-Being: Moderating Role of Optimism in University Employees. Retrieved from Social Indicators Research, Volume 118, Issue 1, pgs. 157-172: http://www.jstor.org.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/stable/24720997
4. Meevissen, Y. M., Peters, M. L., & Alberts, H. J. (2011). Become More Optimistic by Imagining a Best Possible Self: Effects of a Two Week Intervention. Retrieved from Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry Volume 42, Issue 3, pgs. 371-378: https://www-clinicalkey-com-au.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/#!/content/1-s2.0-S0005791611000358
5. Peterson, C. (2000). The Future of Optimism. American Psychologist Volume 55 (1), 44–55.
6. Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (1994). Distinguishing Optimism From Neuroticism (and Trait Anxiety, Self-Mastery, and Self-Esteem) : A Reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Volume 67 (6), 1063–1078.
7. Sharpe, J. P., Martin, N. R., & Roth, K. A. (2011). Optimism and the Big Five Factors of Personality: Beyond Neuroticism and Extraversion. Retrieved from Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 51, Issue 8, pgs. 946-951: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.07.033Get
8. Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2006). How to Increase and Sustain Positive Emotion: The Effects of Expressing Gratitude and Visualizing Best Possible Selves. Retrieved from The Journal of Positive Psychology, Volume 1, Issue 2, pgs. 73-82: https://doi-org.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/10.1080/17439760500510676

Optimism can be defined as a mental attitude in which one hopes or believes that the outcome of a specific situation will be positive and desirable. If someone is optimistic, they tend to expect the best possible outcome from any situation. On the other hand, pessimism is the tendency to believe that the worst is going to happen in a situation or to focus on the worst aspects of things. Optimism is when the glass is seen as half full, whereas pessimism is seeing a glass as half empty and to focus on what is missing. This essay will look at the differences between two approaches which look at optimism as a dispositional trait (Carver and Scheier) and optimism as an explanatory style (Seligman and Peterson). This essay will also look at the disadvantages of being optimistic.

Segerstrom (2006) states that around 80% of people are classified as being optimistic. Studies show that positive and negative expectations about the future are linked to measures of well-being. Research has found that optimism is correlated with being more successful at work, better mental and general health, increased life expectancy and better ways of coping when faced with difficulties.

The dispositional optimism approach by Carver and Scheier is the idea that optimism is a cognitive construct. An individual’s goals in life motivates their behavior. The more important the goals set are to the individual, the more that individual will be motivated in trying to achieve them. Based on this approach, optimistic people generally expect that their actions will lead to a positive outcome so the drive and motivation to get there is greater, resulting in exerting effort with positive actions. Pessimistic people tend to expect negative outcomes such as failing in achieving things in life which decreases motivation and often withdraw from making effort with their actions. Carver et al. (1994) used the Life Orientation Test to assess individual differences in general optimism v pessimism. Their findings show optimism to be positively correlated with self-esteem and self-control. Conversely, pessimism was found to be negatively correlated with neuroticism and mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression.

Studies on young adults have found optimism to be associated with greater life satisfaction, less anxiety in adjusting to new tasks, more health promoting behaviors and may live longer, whereas pessimism associated with increased depressive symptoms (Change et al., 1997). Carver and Scheier also found that optimistic people had better health habits, reported fewer physical symptoms and were able to cope with difficulties better. A study looking at a group of people who had been diagnosed with breast cancer found that individuals that were optimistic engaged in more active coping and were less likely to engage in behaviors of denial and avoidance resulting in less distress (Carver et al., 1997). Furthermore, it was found that optimistic attitudes correlated with lower anxiety levels during pregnancy and may offer protection to post-partum depression (Park et al., 2007).

Explanatory style is the second major approach to optimism, developed by Martin Seligman. Explanatory style can be described as the different ways in which people describe negative situations in their lives. Based on this approach, individuals who explain bad situations with internal (caused by themselves), stable (will continue to happen and global (will happen in other aspects of their life) causes are defined as pessimistic. On the other hand, individuals who choose external (caused by others), unstable (one off situation) and specific (relates to one aspect) causes are defined as optimistic (Buchanan & Seligman, 1995). There are two main measures to assess optimism as an explanatory style. The first measure is attributional style questionnaire where participants have to measure certain positive and negative situations and describe their causes. The second measure is content analysis of verbatim explanations where written documents such as essays and autobiographies are coded using the explanatory style. Studies that have used these measures have found that explanatory style for negative events are a better predictor of behavior than for positive events.

To compare, dispositional optimism views optimism as a broad, stable personality trait whereas the explanatory style focuses on the immediate explanations and judgements to everyday events from an optimistic or pessimistic point of view. According to the explanatory style, there appears to be a link with learned optimism which is seen more as a strategy that can be acquired when cognitive distortions are challenged and changed. Optimism interventions can improve an individual’s optimism significantly (Meevissen et al., 2011). However, findings suggest that optimism and pessimism may change with age and may work differently across cultures. Norem and Chang (2002) suggest that optimism and pessimism work differently in the younger than the older adults.

The idea of the glass being half full appears to have some benefits as being optimistic allows individuals to grow. It allows individuals to turn failures into lessons and encourages confidence and passion within an individual. However, there appears to be a dark side to optimism as well. Research suggests that individuals that are not in complete control of their emotions, if they are optimistic it may backfire on them. If an individual is too optimistic, negative emotions may be ignored which are a key part of human nature and a certain level of negative emotion appears to be beneficial for human growth. Feeling optimistic may lead to false conclusions which could make an individual overestimate their capabilities when dealing with an issue resulting in poor outcomes. Alison Ledgewood suggests that the glass situation can be viewed as a fixed approach. Individuals either see it as a ‘loss’ or a ‘gain’. She states that individuals are capable of seeing both the positives and negatives in every situation. However, as humans, we have a natural tendency to focus more on the negative side of things also known as the negativity bias. This is further supported as research suggests that negative events are stronger and become more negative quicker than positive events. Negative events have a heavier weighting when comparing to positive events, therefore, negative events can be more contagious (Rozin & Royzman, 2001).

Seeing the glass from an optimistic point of view requires more effort than a pessimistic point of view. Individuals that are optimistic can make poor decisions as they are less likely to seek out new information and generally pay less attention to detail. They see the world through ‘rose tinted’ glasses. According to the optimism bias, individuals overestimate the chance of experiencing positive situations and underestimate the chance of experiencing negative events. This also seems to be the case with estimating how capable an individual is as optimistic people may overestimate their abilities. Research has found people who were optimistic had increased positive expectations for gambling in comparison to pessimists. They were also less likely to reduce or stop betting after poor consequences. Optimistic way of thinking appears to be linked with underestimating potential risks (Peterson & Park, 2005). The ‘won’t happen to me’ way of thinking may lead to a failure in attending important health related appointments and other risks such as not using contraception etc. People that underestimate risks resulted in less action. They were less likely to engage in risk reducing behaviors such as stopping smoking. Finally, research also suggests that people that are optimistic may not react and deal well with the occurrence of traumatic events. However, studies have found pessimism to also work as an advantage to individuals. Norem and Cantor (1989) state that defense pessimism can be used as a coping mechanism. It is negative thinking that uses the anxiety regarding a potential failure into achieving something. An example of this would be failing an exam leads to more effort with revising which then leads to better grades on the next exam. This suggests that pessimism isn’t always necessarily a negative thing and optimism isn’t always a positive thing.

To conclude, dispositional optimism is the belief that good things will generally happen in the future whereas explanatory style focuses on an individual’s automatic thought process regarding specific negative events. Learned optimism is the idea that optimism can be increased in an individual and therefore it is not fixed and can be changed. Furthermore, research has found that although optimism, the idea of seeing the glass as half full is beneficial in numerous ways, there also appears to be a dark side to optimism resulting in negative thoughts and consequences.

We, unfortunately, live in a world where devastating issues affect the lives of others on a daily basis. Those issues include world hunger, poverty, crime, unemployment, inequality, violence, and diseases. Some countries or areas are affected more by these issues than others. Mexico, for instance, has a poverty rate of 42% while American has one of 12.3%. Suppose that most of these major world problems were fixed, would one continue having an optimistic mindset or would that not be necessary anymore?

Optimism is a powerful determinant to an individual’s success, happiness, and impact on society, whether or not the world’s problems are solved. According to Collins Dictionary, optimism is “the tendency to take the most hopeful or cheerful view of matters or to expect the best outcome”. An optimistic person is known to have a positive outlook on life and believe that we live in ‘the best of all possible worlds’.

Many studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of optimism compared to pessimism. One study made by Harvard University states: “The pessimist assumes blame for bad news, assumes the situation is stable and has a global impact. The optimist does not assume blame for negative events. Instead, he tends to give himself credit for good news, assume good things will last, and be confident that positive developments will spill over into many areas of his life”. Therefore, the pessimist’s view of the world inclines them toward negativity and can negatively affect their mental health.

As hard as it may seem, being optimistic is the choice you want to make no matter the circumstance. The majority of us have been exposed to traumatic events that have scarred us like losing a loved one, being in a serious car accident, or even community violence. Some people are constantly reminded of a traumatic event which leads to a diminishing mental health. So, one shouldn’t dwell on those past instances instead learn from them and look forward to the good things that’ll come across your life. The fact is that bad things happen, yet good things do too. You’ll realize sooner or later that what’s done is done and for the sake of your well-being moving on is what’ll best suits you.

Now, taking into account that all the world’s problems were solved, it’d be easy for most to say that there is no need for optimism. Putting an end to the tragic events that take a toll on this world would be phenomenal. Picture a world where no more children and families are struggling to find their next meal. A time where we no longer have to read news articles titled such as, ‘Innocent Sixteen-Year-Old Killed by Gang Member’. I believe humanity should always be hopeful because the time for all these problems to come back is only a matter of time. They will keep coming back if we allow ourselves to turn to negative mentalities. As an optimist, you already see the world as perfect, but there are those – pessimist – who don’t and will never see it that way. That is why it’s important to push towards an optimistic mindset so that we understand and recognize the problems in the world and take the opportunity to fix them. So, in order to solve these world problems, we have to start with an optimistic mentality and allow ourselves to invest in the problem-free future we are trying to reach. We need more people who promote and live by optimism. Imagine the worst that can happen to someone, and think what if that person is capable of being happy in that situation. Now that person has learned to truly be happy in any situation since they allowed themselves to be happy at their worst. Optimism gives you that type of strength and helps you believe that it’s okay if not everything goes right. You may not be able to convert all your problems to a solution that satisfies you but at least you were given the strength to hold on and let time pass by.

There’s clearly no better choice than to being optimistic. Pessimism doesn’t achieve the things and doesn’t benefit one as much either. Just because you’re an optimist doesn’t mean you’re going to see everything positively 24/7. Everything will not always be perfect. But optimism allows us to see new opportunities, keeping moving forward, and learn from different instances. Even in a world with no problems, there still lives an uncertainty whether or not those problems will forever be solved. Therefore, keeping an optimistic mindset is not only a crucial part of emotional health within our society today but also for the many years to come.

According to a London-based neurologist who wrote the book ‘Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain’, roughly 80% of the human population is naturally optimistic. It’s just unknown to most of us. So why is that we often have a negative view on how the world has changed over the last decades and centuries? Why we are so pessimistic about our collective future? The pessimist will argue that he or she isn’t a pessimist, but a ‘realist’. So why is it that true happiness comes through positive thinking?

For a pessimist, happiness comes from acceptance- the acceptance of the negative reality. Instead of trying to rid your mind of all negative imagery, they embrace it, watching the negative thoughts drift in and out of your mind without trying to drown them out. But is this really where true happiness lies? It might be that the key to true happiness is seeing every cloud with a silver lining, in other words being optimistic. People who are optimistic expect more positive events to occur in their lives than negative and that’s one of the reasons it’s been shown that optimists are happier. Well-being and satisfaction are tied to optimism. It’s mostly because of this anticipation of positive or negative. Optimism gives you a reason to live – it creates a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction and creates a positive anticipation of the future.

A cheerful temperament can undeniably help you get through the rough patches that cloud every life, but do people who see the glass half-full also enjoy better health than those who see it half-empty? Yes. Pessimists may state that people who view their life optimistically ‘don’t see the dangers in life until it’s too late’, but the truth is that optimists know more about their own health and about how to be healthy. According to several studies, the simple ability of being positive can improve your physiological and psychological wellbeing. These studies show that optimism seems to have an important role in the association between feelings of loss of hope, depression and suicidal thoughts. For instance, an American study analyzed 6,959 students who underwent a personality test when they entered the University of North Carolina in the mid-1960s. In the course of the next 40 years, 476 of the people died from a variety of causes, with cancer being the most common. Overall, pessimism took a substantial toll; the most pessimistic individuals had a 42% higher rate of death than the most optimistic.

Whilst some say that optimists set themselves up to fail with their unrealistic dreams, others believe that it’s the driving force that leads you to the path of success. Pessimistic ideas have been vigorously challenged in recent years due to it bringing a negativity in life preventing a person from confronting setbacks that are bound to occur in life. When facing a setback, optimists use more effective methods to deal with it, which enhances various coping skills developed in order to combat life’s struggles. It forges persistence; an essential trait required for achieving success. It enables you to handle and put your emotions in check. It allows you to deal with failure constructively.

Sir Winston Churchill states, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”. So, don’t ask why? Ask why not?