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
Baumgardner. (2016). Chapter 3: Positive Emotions and Well-Being. In Positive Psychology: PSY1010 (pp. 46-52). P.Ed Custom Books.
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
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
Peterson, C. (2000). The Future of Optimism. American Psychologist Volume 55 (1), 44–55.
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.
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
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.
Migration and development is an issue that has triggered emotive debate since the 1950s. Though migration, in a strict sense, refers to the movement of people from one place to the other, anthropology has over-time studied migration concerning development. This is perhaps because most contemporary immigrants are usually composed of workers who move from their places of birth to other areas perceived to provide a higher return, in terms of their labour input (Castles &Miller 2009). It is against this background that most studies on migration are linked with the issues of development and those of underdevelopment. Todaro (1981) says, “The causes and consequences of continued internal as well as international migration lie at the heart of the contemporary development problem”.
For many years the debate on the impact of migration on development has occupied many scholars. The discussion has been so heated that many have taken distinctively opposing positions. The two opposing groups can be classified into “migration optimists” and “migration pessimists”.
It should be noted that initially, the migration has been dominated by pessimism (Taylor 1999). Further, the debate on migration has emanated from the general process and, even in some instances, on the societies that are receiving the migrants. Due to this skewed focus, the general migration theories fail to offer critical insights into the real picture of migration impacts on the development in the countries that send the migrants. It is thus crucial for us to map these theories within the broader view of migration theory.
Several issues related to migration have cropped up. These are related to the advantages and disadvantages of migration. This paper is going to critically address the dichotomy between the “optimistic” and “pessimistic” approaches in the scholarship on migration, remittances and development. The review done will equally look at the various resultant theoretical advances that go with the study.
Optimists Versus Pessimists
The opposing views on migration are composed of binary opposition, which reflects a notable paradigm shift such as neo-classical versus neo-Marxist, functionalist versus structuralist, brain gain versus brain drain etc. This paradigm shift has been changing since the 1970s, for instance, until 1973, the research community comprised of development and migration optimism. Here the major policy field majored in capital and knowledge that was transferred by immigrants. It also concerned itself with how migrants contributed to the development or took off of the sending countries. In essence, the development here was strongly associated with the return.
Between 1973 to 1993 research community mainly reflected pessimism. There was serious concern on the migration pessimism as the research concentrated on the negative side of migration, which included issues like migration being the cause of dependency, brain drain, consumption, disintegration, etc. There was a growing body of scepticism and the policy decisions of that time aimed at issues like tightening migration, integration concerns etc.
The period between 1990 and 2001 saw a persistent scepticism further advanced, only that this period was a near-neglect of the issue of migration and development altogether. This period was still characterised by a further tightening of the migration policies.
Research boom emerged in periods after 2001 with a significant focus on remittances and generally positive views such as brain gain and the importance of diaspora participation in development.
Optimistic Views
Neo-classical and Developmentalist Model
The neo-classical model views growth as balanced in terms of the labour movement and the movement of people from agricultural areas to urban areas. All these are considered as the general requirements for economic development process takes off (Jones1998). However, when labour moves from sender country, there emerges a situation where a scarcity of labour appears in the sender country, while forming a glut in the receiver country, thereby increase of the wage levels in the sending countries at the same time. Massey et al. (1998) argue that when such equilibrium arises, then migration ceases.
This, in essence, happens when the wage levels between the two countries converge. According to Djajic (1986), the initial view of earlier neo-classical migration theory did not consider the fact that the non-migrant countries also stood to benefit. But the current statistics show that the non-migrants are really benefitting from remittances that flow from the migrants to their countries of origin. It can be concluded, therefore, that the neo-classical migration model has no place for remittances to countries of origin (Taylor 1999). The neo-classical theory only views migrants as a utility-maximising group. It also does not perceive migrants as belonging to social groups such as gender, communities and even families.
On the other hand, according to the development theory, return migrants were considered as the engines behind development and change. Return migrants are those migrants who migrate for a certain period, then come back home to countries of origin. In this model, it was concluded that the migrants did not only remit money back home, but they also brought home new ideas that could spur entrepreneurship back home. This is basically because mostly the receiver countries were far much ahead in the development as compared to the sender countries. So it was easy for new ideas to be borrowed and implemented back at home. As a result, migrants were viewed as a crucial constituency in the modernisation of their countries of origin, which are usually developing.
Again, after colonisation, the newly decolonised countries were expected to strictly follow the path of their formal colonial masters in terms of development speed. It was also assumed that since these developing countries could not develop due to capital constraints, large-scale transfer of capital through financial aid, remittances and even loans, could spur development in these developing countries.
Many developing countries, equipped with such awareness, started encouraging emigration as one of the ways through which economic development could be realised. (Adler, 1981). It was also expected the return migrants would come and reinvest in enterprises at home after returning. What many saw in return migrants was hope for industrial development in the countries of origin. (Beijer 1970)
Pessimistic views
During the late 1960s, optimistic views faced great challenged through a combine influence emanating from the shift towards structuralist and dependency approaches. There were also challenges resulting in empirical studies as well. These empirical studies did not support an optimistic view at all. Instead, these studies overturned the neo-classical and developmental views such that instead of migration being seen to be narrowing the gap between the sending and receiving countries in terms of development, it was seen to be widening that gap. The historical structuralist approach views migration as motivated by the movement of people from desperate life home.
This desperation is caused by capitalist expansion. These conditions should be addressed to stop migration, but this seems not to be the case. Migration is actually seen as advancing underdevelopment. Papademetriou (1985), observed that migration leads to “…evolution into uncontrolled depletion of already meagre supplies of skilled manpower and the most healthy, dynamic, and productive members of their populations”.
Many researchers also share in the view that migration has adverse economic effects on the sending country. He feels that it denies the sending countries their rightful return to investment accrued from having trained its workforce. Remittances are also viewed as fueling consumption, on the one hand, and inflation on the other. Migrants have been observed to invest their money in enterprises that were unproductive.
The dependency theory debunked the modernisation theory in that unlike the earlier prediction of the modernisation theory; migration seemed not to exude the advantages expected. While modernisation theory splits the world into psychological and cultural realms, the dependency theory, on the other hand, actually posits the world as a single capitalist entity. According to several studies on remittance, it was found that remittances were never used for infrastructural development. Still, much of it would be used for housing and other consumption immediate needs. The same even applies to the skills acquired by the emigrants in the host countries.
Studies done by several researchers found out that many returning industrial workers did not want to work in industries back at home. But they wanted to do other things, or be independent altogether. This means that the skills acquired abroad were never put to use.
Usually, the skills acquired from working abroad are never applied back at home, since in most cases, the local economic set up cannot accommodate such skills. It has been established that migrants from Sicily tended to abandon agriculture and instead went ahead and bought land only to become absentee landlords (Bertram 1999). This led to inflation and general land fragmentation in Sicily.
In actual sense returnee migrants, in most cases, are never interested in investing in agriculture. They leave land brought idle for or sometimes use it for a retreat during summer retreats. There has been only one advantage of remittance as documented. The migrant remittances could be used to educate their children. This is, however, considered a long term positive effect of remittance.
In a study carried out on Mexicans in the United States, it was found that benefits accrued from migration depended on the extent the migrants, while in the US, participated in formal organisations such as co-operative societies.
Households and Gender
Migration research’s main problem is identifying the appropriate units of analysis. Most researches have based their analyses on the individual. However, recently migration research has focused on the individual. However, recently migration research has focused on the household as one unit that comes in between the social and that of individual analysis. Research has effectively used the household in a study he did on Mexican rural communities and women’s participation in production and marketing activities. These activities usually derive their income from migration. Some research has also looked at the role played by non-salaried female labour. These workers do simple jobs as well as offer simple services. Such capital, it is observed, usually finds its way into the mainstream capital stream, from where it is appropriated.
Recently migrant and immigrant women found in lower level labour markets have been the focus of anthropological study. Much of the research has been done on these cadres of migrant women who come from rural areas and work for transnational organisations such as EPZs (Export Production Zones), which are usually set up by the governments to capture foreign capital inflows. Usually, the majority of these workers are women, and they are typically paid lowly.
There have been patterns of movement in developing countries. The way by which the population moves from place to the other can be categorised under duration, form and destination. Form refers to whether the population moves from one place to the other can be categorised under time, form and destination. Form refers to whether populations move as groups, communities or as individuals. Usually, migration is motivated by labour concerns.
But for the women, migration has been found to be motivated by issues such as marital concerns. Though levels of migration vary from region to region, it has been found that women form the bulk of city ward migration. The research found that in Latin America, for instance, women have been immigrating on an independent basis. Though cityward migration has been dominated by men, recent trends show where the number of female migration is soaring and way above that rate with which men are moving to the cities.
This trend can be explained by the level of women participation in agriculture. The wage labour provided by the women is in high demand in the cities. This trend is particularly prevalent in East Asia and even Africa. Their services, being required in multinational industries, are also needed in both the semi-skilled and semi-skilled occupations provided in the cities.
Women’s migration is not just constrained by the labour differentials that exist between the cities and rural areas, but also by other familial and marital concerns. Cultural concerns also do impact significantly on female migration. For example, in specific communities, women are supposed to stay at home. That is why, even in the context of international migration, there is a disparity in number between women migrants and male migrants (Black, 1998). This could be due to the way the women’s sphere of economic placement. They are usually confined to minimal economic activity.
Domestic service is another category through which women migrate. This is predominant in situations where the women are migratory to more prosperous countries.
Women also find their way to overseas destinations through marriage. In the “Mail-order bride,” businesswomen are exported to European countries to become wives to become concubines to European and even Japanese men.
In “oscillating” migration, people move from one place to the other for a short period, then back again. This could be in search of labour or other concerns. Women, for example, could move, in some communities, from the towns to their mothers’ homes, especially during child birth for a certain period then back again. This is particularly prevalent among the Hausa women in northern Nigeria.
Gender differences in migration mainly show that men migrate independently than women due to intense pressure that the culture demands of women. Men, therefore, enjoy the freedom to move than women in such cases.
Approaches to female migration
Neo-classical/Equilibrium Approaches
The equilibrium model has been dramatically employed to understand female migration. It is, however, used just as a theoretical model and not as a systematic tool through for research. The neo-classical approach is useful in the sense that it emphasises on the spatial distribution of labour markets. By this, it effectively addresses the movement of women from rural areas to urban areas in search of work in the urban labour markets.
This model does not differentiate between male and female migration. Yet we know that such movement is usually motivated by different factors. For example, women could move in search of marriage partners, an occurrence that is absent among male population movement (De Haan et al. 2000). However, some neo-classical models have incorporated this differentiation. Another critique of this model is that it takes women as a homogeneous entity. This is not true since there are different types of women in unique ways (Ellis 1998).
Behavioural approaches
These approaches majorly deal with ideological and cultural aspects that motivate migration between men and women. These approaches usually show the role women play in the varied economic sectors while at the same time recognising such mobility (Zelinsky, 1971). The vital point is that the approaches do consider the significant role that marriage plays in this situation. The only major critique of these approaches is that fail to generalise beyond the community being studied, what the features of male /female migration.
Structuralist approaches
These approaches have been helpful in the study of female migration as they tend to view that migration in view of a general global perspective. These approaches show the impact of the changing divisions in gender among women. For example, of late there has been the mobility of young migrants in search of work in assembly firms like the “Free Trade Zones” in South East Asia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and so on (Chant 1992).
The household strategies approach
This approach gained acceptance since it incorporates the crucial role that household duties are at reflecting the gender-differentiated type of migration from rural households. According to Chant (1992), “in rural households which upon a combination of subsistence and cash-crop production, migration arises not only because of the inability of these activities to satisfy livelihood requirements but because gender divisions of labour within the household release certain members while retaining others”.
In the case above, the household is viewed as a coordinating unit institution that organises the available resources while at the same time recruits and decides where special labour force will be assigned to perform both productive and reproductive tasks.
In the household approach, more emphasis is placed on the power relations which govern decision making in the household (Ellis, 1998). Thus migration of women is governed by the nature of the relations and power structures inherent within that family structure and not just labour differentiation as is known (Bissel, and Natsios, 2001). The household approach is an excellent attempt to bridge its various weaknesses in the other models as it focuses on socio-cultural aspects such as production and reproduction and the power relations within a particular household (Chant 1992-23).
Migration and Development
Myths and Facts
Most of the debate has focused on the receiving end of the migration. This has been quite as such as seen from the discussion on international South-North labour migration. (Kuhn, 1962)
Unlike the usual assumption that migration is on the rise, there have been moments where migration in the 19th century has been the same through to 20th century (Keely& Tran1989).
There is also another misconception that poverty and general despondency are the root causes of immigration. Though the motivation for migration is indeed driven by the desire to improve one’s livelihood, it is simplistic to imagine it is usually the poorest that migrate. Instead, it has been documented that inequalities in the socio-economic arena coupled with educational levels and desire for information access to be the major causes of the rise in migration.
One can even tell from some of the leading emigration countries such as Mexico and the Philippines (Bertram 1986). These are not among the least developed countries, yet they are among the top migrant-sending countries in the world. Development seems to increase migration. Thus, when states in cases of more advanced stages of social and economic development, many countries usually change from net labour senders to net labour receivers. This is perhaps the situation that many southern European countries like Italy, Spain and Greece went through. (Lewis 1986)
Another misconception is that carefully crafted policies, aid and trade liberalisation could reduce migration. This is not true. Actually, the proponents of this view disregard the established fact that development initially spurs migration. Actually, in societies experiencing social development, most people are attracted to migrate as their personal aspirations tend to heighten at this moment. Studies have equally shown that liberalisation of trade through trade agreements usually lead to less migration both in short and medium term periods.
That means that even as the developed countries set out to send aid to fight poverty in developing countries set out to send help to fight poverty in developing countries like in Africa and Asia, this may not work to keep the people from migrating. It is, however, argued that for any meaningful attempt to handle migration, there is a need for the developed countries to avoid protective economics that harms south’s competitiveness (Chant & Radcliffe, 1992). This will mean that people will as well move to the North, where economic activity is concentrated.
Another myth about migration is that migration promotes brain-drain. This is not true, since not all the migrants are usually composed of a highly-skilled cadre. In a study done by Adams (2003), international migration usually does not involve the highest proportion of the highly educated. In essence, brain-drain can be reversed to brain-gain. Also, the highly skilled may, in turn, be beneficial to their communities through remittances, new skills, attitudes etc. it has also been established that the prospect for many to go abroad usually motivates those who are left behind to be encouraged to study (Bebbington1999).
Moreover, there are some cadres of employment for which the skilled migrants could reap maximum benefit to their investment to education at home. This is so because skilled workers in these cadres get well paid and not exploited (Vertovec, 1999). Some countries such as the Philippines and India are known to train certain labour types with the sole purpose of eventually exporting there so that their governments could benefit from remittances and other accrued resultant benefits.
Remittances
Money remitted by migrants to the developing countries has been enormous (Kindleberger 1965). It has been established that remittances actually doubled in the 1990s as even the aid patterns were on the decline. It is a fact that a considerable amount of these remittances have had a significant contribution to the sending countries. Thus, many households have realised improved standard of living as a result of these remittances (Kapur, 2003).
The remittances for many developing countries form a desirable form and source of foreign exchange. They also form part of income redistribution since they assume a spatial perspective. Actually reach the people who need and deserve it (Fraenkel, 2006). This means that there is no room for a corrupt government official to grab or interfere with the administration of such funds in the sending countries (King & Vullnetari 2006).
However, this feeling about remittances could prove overly optimistic since migrants only consist of 3% of the entire world’s population (Binford 2003). Another problem could be that it does not always mean that remittances only target the poorest in societies. It could be the contrary. Another argument is that it does not mean that remittances are directed at development enterprises back at home.
Migration and Development policies
The relation between migration and development is still debatable. However, several measures need to be put in place to realise the benefits that many accrue out of migration. For instance, effective policies could not put in place that may enhance the legal standing of the migrant as well as improving both the social and economic status in the countries that send the migrants.
It should also be noted though remittances play a crucial role, they are not usually a panacea for the development in the sending countries (Gammage, 2006).
Another way could be through making sure that the cost of remitting funds is brought down considerably. It has been established that currently, the money transfer agencies charge exorbitant fees for a single transaction and so do banks. Another policy that could be of assistance would be to exempt remittances from tax requirements.
Guaranteeing migrant rights is another area that needs to be looked into. In many receiving and even sending countries, the rights of the migrants are not granted at all. This situation makes life unbearable for most migrants. This situation may even mean that migrants may not have the motivation to remit funds as they wish (Faist,2004).
Further, there is a need for governments to manage a database of migrants. This will guard against the emotive issue of brain-brain. Thus, the government can make sure that only the surplus skilled labour migrates so that government does not suffer a deficiency.
Conclusion
This study has clearly shown that there abound different perspectives on the issue of migration. Thus the complexity of migration requires that other approaches are employed towards the study of migration.
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Attitudes towards life and the world around have a great impact on emotional and psychological state of a person, his/her life goals and well-being. Optimism and pessimism are two important characteristics of an outlook on life and environment shared by every person. Optimistic and pessimistic views of people are influenced by life expectations and life circumstances, childhood experience and social position, etc. The more important a goal is to someone, the greater is its value within the person’s motivation. Without having a goal that matters, people have no reason to act. Optimists and pessimists differ in several ways that have a big impact on their lives.
Optimism and Pessimism Defined
Traditional definitions of optimism and pessimism rest on people’s expectations for the future. Scientific approaches to these constructs also rest on expectations for the future. This grounding in expectancies links the concepts of optimism and pessimism to a long tradition of expectancy-value models of motivation (Aspinwall & Brunhart 1996) The result of this is that the optimism construct, though having roots in folk wisdom, is also firmly grounded in decades of theory and research on human motives and how they are expressed in behavior. “Dispositional optimism refers to generalized outcome expectancies that good things, rather than bad things, will happen; pessimism refers to the tendency to expect negative outcomes in the future” (MacArthur & MacArthur 1999). Optimists are people who expect good things to happen to them; pessimists are people who expect bad things to happen to them. Selingman (1978) explains that In this regard, the optimistic attributional style is the pattern of external, variable, and specific attributions for failures instead of internal, stable, and global attributes that were the focus in the earlier helplessness model. Implicit in this theory is the importance placed on negative outcomes, and there is a goal-related quality in that optimistic people are attempting to distance themselves from negative outcomes. In hope theory, however, the focus is on reaching desired future positive goal-related outcomes, with explicit emphases on the agency and pathways thoughts about the desired goal. In both theories, the outcome must be of high importance, although this is emphasized more in hope theory (Lesko, 2005).
Impact of Expectations on Optimism and Pessimism
Expectancies are pivotal in theories of optimism, but there are at least two ways to think about expectancies and how to measure them (Lesko 2005). One approach measures expectancies directly, asking people to indicate the extent to which they believe that their future outcomes will be good or bad. Expectancies that are generalized— expectancies that pertain more or less to the person’s entire life space—are what we mean when we use the terms optimism and pessimism. Another approach to optimism relies on the assumption that people’s expectancies for the future derive from their view of the causes of events in the past (Seligman, 1991 cited Lesko, 2005). If explanations for past failures focus on causes that are stable, the person’s expectancy for the future in the same domain will be for bad outcomes because the cause is seen as relatively permanent and thus likely to remain in force. If attributions for past failures focus on causes that are unstable, then the outlook for the future may be brighter because the cause may no longer be in force. If explanations for past failures are global (apply across aspects of life), the expectancy for the future across many domains will be for bad outcomes because the causal forces are at work everywhere. If the explanations are specific, the outlook for other areas of life may be brighter because the causes do not apply there (Meyers, 2006).
Goals are states or actions that people view as either desirable or undesirable. People try to fit their behaviors, indeed, fit their very selves, to what they see as desirable, and they try to keep away from what they see as undesirable. The second conceptual element in expectancy-value theories is expectancy, a sense of confidence or doubt about the attainability of the goal value (Meyers, 2006). If the person lacks confidence, again there will be no action. That’s why a lack of confidence is sometimes referred to as “crippling doubt.” Doubt can impair effort before the action begins or while it is ongoing. Only if people have enough confidence will they move into action and continue their efforts (Lesko, 2005).
Impact of Optimism and Pessimism on Life Goals and Well-Being
Optimism not only has a positive effect on the psychological well-being of people with medical problems but also influences well-being among caregivers. This conclusion was supported in a project that studied a group of cancer patients and their caregivers. Caregivers’ optimism related to lower symptoms of depression, less impact of caregiving on physical health, and less impact on caregivers’ daily schedules. Similar results have been found in research on caregiver spouses of Alzheimer’s patients (Lesko, 2005). Although much of the evidence for the relationship between optimism and psychological well-being comes from samples encountering serious adversity, less extreme events have been examined in other studies (Aspinwall & Brunhart, 1996). For example, the start of college is a difficult and stressful time, and researchers have examined students making their adjustment to their first semester of college. Optimism, self-esteem, and other variables were assessed when the students first arrived on campus
Theory (Lesko, 2005) suggests that pessimists are less likely to make efforts to ensure their well-being. There is, in fact, evidence that pessimists engage in behaviors that reflect a tendency to give up. Some of these behaviors have adverse consequences for wellbeing. Some even have deadly consequences. “To the extent that generalized expectancies are negative, internal, and global, bad health and mental health consequences will follow, a response style termed “pessimistic explanatory style” (MacArthur & MacArthur, 1999). Various forms of substance abuse can be seen as reflecting a giving-up tendency. Substance abuse in general, and excessive alcohol consumption in particular, often is seen as an escape from problems. If so, it follows that pessimists should be more vulnerable than optimists to engaging in this pattern of maladaptive behavior. A sizable body of evidence indicates that pessimism can lead people into self-defeating patterns. The study by Ammar et al (2000) found that: “patients who possess a tendency toward either high pessimism or high emotion-focused coping are at a high health risk emanating from both high distress and a slow rehabilitation process’. The result can be less persistence, more avoidance coping, health-damaging behavior, and potentially even an impulse to escape from life altogether. With no confidence about the future, there may be nothing left to sustain life. Optimism may influence the settings that people choose as well as what they do in these settings. Just as important, settings differ in the degree to which they allow positive characteristics to develop and be deployed (Meyers, 2006).
Threats of Optimism and Benefits of Pessimism
Several theorists have suggested the possibility that such situations do exist, that optimism may be potentially damaging (Lesko 2005) For example, too much optimism might lead people to ignore a threat until it is too late or might lead people to overestimate their ability to deal with an adverse situation, resulting in poorer coping. The idea that optimists may fail to protect themselves against threats is one way in which optimism might work against a person. Another possibility is that the optimist’s worldview might be more vulnerable than that of a pessimist to the shattering impact of a traumatic event. After all, adversity confirms the pessimist’s worldview. Although the development of positive expectations is an important goal of such therapies, it also is important to recognize that it can be counterproductive to try to substitute an unquestioning optimism for an existing doubt. Sometimes people are pessimistic because they have unrealistically high aspirations for themselves. They demand perfection, hardly ever see it, and develop resulting doubts about their adequacy. This tendency must be countered by establishing realistic goals and identifying which situations must be accepted rather than changed.
Conclusion
Expectations for the future have an important impact on how people respond in times of adversity or challenge. Expectancies influence the way in which people confront these situations, and they influence the success with which people deal with them. We have yet to see clear evidence of a case in which having positive expectations for one’s future is detrimental. Many questions remain unanswered: for example, about the precise mechanism by which optimism influences subjective well-being, and about potential pathways by which optimism may influence physical well-being. But people themselves are optimistic about the future of work in this area, optimistic that research will continue to reveal the paths by which positive thinking works to people’s benefit.
References
Ammar, R., Ben-Zur, H., Rappaport, B., Uretzky, B.G. (2000). Coping Strategies, Life Style Changes and Pessimism after Open-Heart Surgery. Health and Social Work, 25 (3), 201.
Aspinwall, L. G., & Brunhart, S. N. (1996). Distinguishing optimism from denial: Optimistic beliefs predict attention to health threats. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, n/a.
Lesko, W.A. (2005). Readings in Social Psychology: General, Classic, and Contemporary Selections. Allyn & Bacon; 6th edition.
MacArthur, J.D., MacArthur, C.T. (1999). Optimism/Pessimism. Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health.
Optimism is a trait that each of us should have, given its importance as a human personality. Although it is often ignored or taken lightly, optimism helps people to see opportunity during difficulties. By definition, optimism implies reacting to problems with a great sense of confidence and high personal ability. Winston Churchill’s said that a pessimist sees great difficulties in all opportunities, while an optimist is able to see opportunity in every difficulty (Scheier and Carver 1082). Recently, studies have tried to understand the impacts of optimism in both animal models and humans.
Most empirical research studies demonstrate that optimism has multiple advantages and impacts on humans. For instance, it improves immunity, prevent and halt the progression of certain chronic diseases, and help individuals cope with shocks and traumas. Closely associated with optimism is gratitude, which has also been shown to have such impacts as happiness, reduction of stress and depression, and improved social integration of people (Scheier and Carver 1082). The antonym of optimism is pessimism, which is closely associated with doubting and loss of hope. People with a high level of pessimism tend to score low on optimism. In turn, they achieve minimally, given that they do not have the ‘high spirits’ a characteristic associated with optimism. Consequently, it is arguable that optimism is a trait that we should all try to achieve, despite our personality differences, as a means of improving our health, relationships, and ability to tackle problems and difficulties in everyday life.
Normally, people do not pay much attention to what optimism entails. Indeed, few people take time to think about being optimistic in their daily activities. Rather, the common human behavior is to lose confidence or freak out when faced with difficult situations. Instead of reacting to problems with a sense of confidence and ability, we tend to develop hopelessness as we believe that we will eventually lose or fail to fight to the end (Scheier and Carver 1082). In essence, humans assume behavior that portrays the opposite of optimism. Therefore, people should be made aware of the importance of being optimistic at all times and the physiological, cognitive, and social benefits of optimism.
At this juncture, it is necessary to consider some of the proven benefits and impacts of optimism that people should be taught. Optimistic people tend to develop the belief that negative events are transient, manageable, and limited in their scope. Such people do not try to evade every aspect of a difficult situation. Optimism exists on a continuum, just like many other psychological characteristics and states common in humans (Gupta and Sagar 509). People who have low optimism scores can change and raise their levels depending 0n the prevailing situation. Those at the higher end of the optimism spectrum are optimists, while those on the lower end tend to be pessimists.
One of the major themes that appear in most of the recent studies about optimism that I have seen relate to its health impacts. Researchers have examined the various health benefits of optimism. Some researchers have found that every point increase in an individual’s optimism score decreases the risk of early death. It was found that people with chronic diseases and those at risk of sudden death, such as smokers, reduce their chances of dying by a significant margin when their confidence levels increase on the optimism scale (Biber et al. 1948). Such studies indicate that personality and psychological characteristics, as shown by the level of optimism, can play a significant role in protecting people from early and sudden death. In essence, optimism and the related characteristics such as confidence and hopefulness produce protective effect to people at risk of death.
Additional studies have shown that optimism plays an important role in the recovery process, especially during disease and illnesses. In particular, chronic diseases like cancer are widely considered when conducting such studies. In general, the outcomes of these research projects have suggested a strong link between high levels of optimism and minimal experience of distress even when facing potentially life-threating diagnosis and painful treatments. Cancer patients with a superior fighting spirit tend to have better quality of life several months after treatment for various forms of cancer.
Moreover, other studies have shown that high levels of optimism tend to predict minimal disruption of normal life, fatigue, and distress on people undergoing painful treatment of diseases like cancer (Philbin and Perez-Brumer 72). The characteristic, together with confidence and state of high hopes, appear to protect people against an urge to withdraw from certain social activities that are important to the healing process. Those with high levels of optimism are able to be more mindful of their welfare. Moreover, additional studies have shown that such individuals achieve high sleep quality, which is important in the healing process. Other studies have examined the relationship between optimism and the development of chronic diseases. Results from such studies indicate that people with low levels of optimism or those with high scores of pessimisms are more likely to experience such conditions as thickening arteries, which is a risk to cardiac diseases and early death.
Optimism is also associated with an improved immune system. For elderly people, those who receive immunization against such diseases as influenza develop immunity after a few weeks if they have high levels of optimism. Immune responses seem to have a strong link with high levels of confidence and optimism in people living with conditions that attract stigmatization in their societies. For example, some studies have shown that high levels of confidence and optimism in people living with HIV tend to confer higher immune responses than those with high levels of pessimism. It has been established that optimistic people with HIV tend to have low mortality rates and a slow progression of the infection. Such people achieve high levels of helper T cells, which are immune cells in the body that plays a major role in suppressing the progression of HIV (Scheier and Carver 1082). Optimistic people’s immune system increases significantly when faced with life threatening conditions such as development of another condition such as asthma and diabetes. Since they have always been confident and optimism, they tend to use the same perceptions and spirit to fight the new health challenges facing them.
Psychologically, optimism plays an important role in giving people energy and raising their spirits when coping with difficult life events and challenges. It has been linked to better responses to mild and extreme events such as missile attacks and terrorism. It has a protective role in which people use extraordinary methods of coping with disasters, violence, and other traumatizing events. Moreover, it strongly correlates with self-esteem and life satisfaction (Scheier and Carver 1082). These findings suggest that optimism is related to positive effect, implying that people high confidence levels have happier lives even when they are facing challenges.
In conclusion, I think we have always ignored the importance of being optimistic in our lives. People tend to shy away or fear facing challenges and difficult situations. Without optimism, people will not develop high spirits to fight problems and issues in life. Instead, they shy avoid taking steps to improve the situation, which ends in losing. On the contrary, those with high levels of optimism are likely to have the spirit to challenge the problems coming their way, eventually winning the battle for survival.
Gupta, Snehil, and Rajesh Sagar. “National mental health programme-optimism and caution: a narrative review.” Indian journal of psychological medicine 40.6 (2018): 509-516. Web.
Philbin, Morgan M., and Amaya Perez-Brumer. “Promise, perils and cautious optimism: the next frontier in long-acting modalities for the treatment and prevention of HIV.” Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS 17.2 (2022): 72.
A smile is one of the few things that can inspire and cheer a person up, even if they are completely emotionally drained. My parents always say to me that I have been a smiling human being since birth. Moreover, many of my relatives and friends often called me an amiable person. Perhaps it is because I read a lot of literary works where such an emotional component of character as optimism was crucial for the plot. Plenty of well-known protagonists have this personality trait, for example, Forrest Gump. According to Scott (2020), “optimism is a mental attitude characterized by hope and confidence in success and a positive future.” (para.1). It can be said that the smiles of the imaginary characters helped me shape my current mental attitude to life. Many writers have conveyed their own optimism to me to be a better person and inspire others to positively look at various life events. In this paper, the topic of optimism in literature and its impact on people’s outlook on life will be explored and discussed.
Optimism in Literature
It is no secret that literary works, like many other pieces of art, are capable of making an emotional impact on their audience. One can say it is the ability to influence the reader’s mood is that makes a story good and memorable. A writer can show the optimistic nature of a fictional character in a variety of ways. Creating a contrast between the protagonist’s personality and external reality is among the most emotionally efficient means (Zirngast, 2021). Therefore, there is usually a juxtaposition between the imagined world of a book and readers’ world around them.
At times when the world is ‘all over the place’ and causes severe stress for people, having the opportunity to immerse oneself into the fictional world and spend some time with the characters of the story. For example, during the peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic when the news media was reporting high numbers of infected individuals as well as spiking death rates, more and more people wanted to shelter themselves from the reality take a break from it. While escaping the world around us is not realistic long-term, having an opportunity to escape just for some time is a luxury that literature can offer.
There is an abundance of books that offer the safe escape into a fictional world and teach their readers that there are no unsolvable problems. The adventures through which the reader goes together with book characters often provide teachable lessons and underline the importance of remaining optimistic. As mentioned by Montgomery (2008) in Anne of Green Gables, “tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it yet” (p. 188). The passage illustrates that the characters of the book have made some mistakes and have reaped the consequences of them, but the next day is a new page with new opportunities.
Conclusion
This work explores and analyzes optimism in literary works and its influence on human mood and character. During the times of extreme stress caused by the world around us, the optimism that literature offers can provide an escape to readers that want to spend some time away from the news of family drama. Because of this, optimism in literature is highly valuable during such times and should never be overlooked as a source of wisdom and positivity.
References
Montgomery, L. (2008). Anne of Green Gables. Penguin Adult.
Zirngast, L. (2021). A close reading of “The Buried Home”: The importance of optimism in a world seemingly full of pessimism. Off Campus: Seggau School of Thought, 7, 153-162. doi:10.25364/25.7:2021.18
The healthcare setting typically incorporates a plethora of factors that cause nurses significant stress. Specifically, nurses must manage very tight schedules, handle a tremendous amount of information, and tend to the needs of a large number of patients. The need to provide constant support to patients and ensure that they receive emotional support has necessitated the development of coping mechanisms that shield nurses form stress to an extent. Learned optimism, which can be defined as a conscious effort to recognize pessimistic ideas and choose not to be consumed by them is one of such responses.
At first glance, learned optimism might seem as an artificial attempt at avoiding confrontation with real-life concerns. However, on further inspection, especially after considering the challenges that nurses must confront regularly in the workplace, one will have to recognize the need for a tool that allows nurses to keep their resilience (Chang & Daly, 2015). In this respect, learned optimism as the means of keeping one’s composure and maintaining a positive outlook in the settings that involve high levels of stress and pressure is vital for maintaining mental and emotional well-being.
Therefore, as a coping mechanism for managing stress levels in the workplace, learned optimism allows a nurse to avoid a range of complications associated with mental health. For example, the use of learned optimism an as coping mechanism for stress management can prevent a workplace burnout from developing. In turn, workplace burnouts currently represent a major threat for nurses due to the continuous rise in the number of patients and the extent of workload. Therefore, the application of learned optimism as the means of releasing tension and reducing stress rates leads to a drop in the probability of a burnout (Kahlert & Brand, 2017).
Finally, one must mention the positive effects that learned optimism has on the emotional well-being of nurses. Due to emotional exhaustion, working in the healthcare setting implies dealing with devastation that may lead to emotional numbness (Chang & Daly, 2015). The specified outcome is particularly dangerous for nurses since providing emotional response and being empathetic to the needs of patients is one of the facets of a nurse’s workplace performance and, thus, one of the key requirements to meet. In turn, with the rise in the levels of a workplace burnout, a nurse is unlikely to meet the described requirement, which may lead to a drop in the quality of healthcare services and the resulting drop in the efficacy of the treatment administered to a patient. Therefore, it is vital for a nurse to keep the extent of motional responsiveness high and be capable of empathizing with patients and their needs for a better rapport with them.
Learned optimism has a tremendous effect on nurses’ well-being, mostly due to the effects that it has on nurses’ ability to perform under significant stress, as well as the increased influence of negative factors that increase the risk of a workplace burnout. Moreover, constant exposure to other people’s distress and the need to observe them suffering before appropriate treatment is provided to them is emotionally taxing and often devastating. Therefore, the strategies that allow managing their mental health more effectively, particularly, the ones related to meditation, contribute to nurses’ psychological and emotional well-being to a major extent. Since learning optimism as the coping strategy that allows nurses to keep their spirits high helps to avoid the described concerns, it should be recognized for the benefits that it provides to nurses.
References
Chang, E. M. L., & Daly, J. (2015). Transitions in nursing: Preparing for professional practice. Chatswood.
The years in our lives keep passing, and with every New Year, we move towards a new phase of life that is beginning to weather away spiritual and emotional disturbances of the past so as to emerge much stronger with a focused resolve to take charge of the life. We need to take charge and get released of doubt and fear in order to surge ahead in creating what matters to us in being very important to achieve in life. We need to throw away the old thoughts pertaining to inertia and get involved with positive goals. It is very important to understand that fear is the real culprit that shifts us into thinking at most only of mediocre objectives and mental states; although inside our hearts, we may be having the burning desire to make changes in our life to improve upon our situations. Hence it is high time that we put all those negative thoughts on the back burner and start to believe in something which is much stronger and which adds immense positive value in our life.
It is hence essential to cultivate such optimism in making a strong line of defence to counter the attacks of negative conditioning that prevails all around the world. True that optimism can successfully counter such uninvited traits in us by removing the negative programming of our minds that is a common feature in most of us. If one can summon the requisite faith in oneself by focusing on what is desired, it is possible to ward away the pessimistic patterns and doubts that keep threatening to take control over us. It is not difficult to cultivate optimism, and a typical example of how to do it is that of the gardener. The gardener knows what is required to be put in the soil so that beautiful vibrant, and healthy flowers are produced. Much needed attention and caution are required to be taken so that flowers get adequate water, minerals and sunlight. Thus it is the same with the human mind; we need to be sure that we are putting the right inputs into our subconscious mind, which ultimately form our value systems and bring about optimism in us. We need to monitor what goes into our minds in much the same way as the gardener ensures as to what goes into enabling the flowers to bloom. Hence there is nothing to stop us from having an optimistic attitude so that we positively and bravely look forward to all the good things in life.
To cultivate optimism in our life, we need to be consistent so that our mind responds in a constant way towards positive thoughts. We should not flood our minds with doubts, fears, lack confidence, anger and other negative thoughts; other wise the garden in our minds will produce only likewise. Over time, the mind simply reproduces what it has been fed with. The good news is that we can easily change the programming in our minds as and when we feel like it by making a conscious decision to remove the negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. The idea is to control the mind in a way so that as and when there is doubt, a positive thought must be created, and over time the mind will become attuned and accustomed to such a pattern in eliciting positive thoughts. The mind needs to be trained to be receptive in expecting positive results in all situations. Sure one will be amazed at being amply rewarded due to such efforts.
The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan is a collection of autobiographical essays and short stories. Published posthumously in 2014, the stories and essays teach their readers to be more open to the world and experiences awaiting them in life (Scholes). The book begins with a challenging consideration that there is no word to denote the “opposite of loneliness” despite the fact that many people, including the author, have spent a lot of time to achieve such a state (Keegan).
The insightful nature of the works coupled with the underlying theme of promise and potential are what make Keegan’s work unique, as it has no common characteristics with a collection of juvenilia that so many aspiring authors would write in her age (“The Opposite of Loneliness, by Marina Keegan: Review”). However, there is an underlying sense of unintended foreshadowing as Keegan expresses fear of losing something, and this something was most likely the opportunity to become someone impactful in life (Gregory). While reading The Opposite of Loneliness with the early death of its author in mind can be distracting, the effect from the writing does not lessen as Keegan’s provocative and intelligent writing calls readers to reflect on her perspective (Nelson).
The words “I will live for love, and the rest will take care of itself,” which begin the dedication of the book and which Marina pronounced on her graduation day, are fundamental for the tone of the entire collection of essays and short stories (Keegan 1). Looking forward to the future of finishing college and pursuing her writing aspirations, the author is optimistic about what life has to offer, and reminds her audience, several times, that there is a vast expanse of opportunity and time ahead of them. In order to be open to them, Keegan decides to renounce the feelings of regret or fear that may come hand-in-hand with any achievement in the modern competitive world (Hazelton).
Furthermore, she frames the idea of “commencement” as something that usually prevents people from going ‘all in’ and therefore set themselves for loss and disappointment. While the author acknowledges that some people know what they will be doing in life, the majority of them are still indecisive and thus are afraid of choosing one track on another. The optimism here is that Keegan asserts that starting a new beginning is possible at any point in one’s life. The sense of possibility or opportunity, the immense and identifiable potential energy, accompanies the open mind and is essential for being open to new beginnings in life.
The autobiographic essays are highly considerate of the complex period in human life, which is the teenage years. For instance, in “Stability in Motion,” Keegan maps out her experiences as a teenager that were instrumental in transforming her as an individual. By using the example of her 1990 Toyota Camry, the author argues that in many cases, things people own become reflections of their personalities and help them transform and seize opportunities. When owned by Maria’s grandmother, the car reflected the stability and discipline: “the black exterior remained glossy and spotless, the beige interior crisp and pristine. Tissues were disposed of, seats vacuumed, and food prohibited” (Keegan 143).
Once passed down to the granddaughter, the car began reflecting the motion as a fundamental aspect of its owner’s character. The vehicle started being crammed with clutter, with extremely loud music being played in it. It was often filled with giggling friends and was the home for emotional phone calls. In many ways, the car became the extension of its owner’s bedroom and “thus an extension of myself” (Keegan 145). The changes that the object had undergone reflected the changes occurring in the author’s life, and she was afraid of losing the momentum, losing motion. Hence, stability in motion is a metaphor used for showing that life should always go on no matter what, new opportunities should be pursued, while perspectives and opinions changed.
The essay “Even Artichokes Have Doubts” is imperative to consider in the discussion about opportunity that was highly necessary for the author to explore in her writing. Interviewing students who made a career choice to pursue the consulting or finance jobs, which make up “around 25 percent of employed Yale graduates,” Keegan is upset about the fact that so many people fail to understand the need to be passionate about their jobs and do something to help others (Keegan 187).
Therefore, there is a tension between doing what one is passionate about and what will make the most money. This tension usually makes people lose themselves and their personality for the sake of having a career that would be prestigious, high-paying, but meaningless. The author fears to lose herself in this opposition and therefore makes sure that every decision she could make in career would not be influenced by the considerations of status and money.
The pretense of people not understanding where to go and how to act is also reflected in “Why We Care About Whales,” in which the author explained a very common social paradox. While we hear news every day about thousands of people in African fighting to survive and cannot afford to eat, the response from the global community is predominantly non-existent. Although, when a whale is washed up on the beach, people panic, and with the sense of emergency, try to get it back into the ocean.
Keegan writes, “I worry sometimes that humans are afraid of helping humans” (152). The paradox is established because of distance as Africa is far away, and thus its problems are not as visible and noticeable. Whales, however, can be washed up on shores anywhere with an ocean shore, making the problem more visible and dramatic. Here, Keegan proceeds with arguing that it is imperative to help anyone who requires support. The lives of those suffering from injustice or poverty are in the hands of those who have the opportunity to change the social narrative and become valuable members of society.
Throughout the exploration of the non-fiction essays by Marina Keegan, one cannot but not to notice the universal message of not only growing up but becoming one’s own person. The tension that the author faces is trying to connect to the world around her, failing in some instances, and succeeding in others. This struggle is known to any person because everyone had a growing up stage in his or her life. Moreover, young people also are commonly frustrated with their parents who do not allow them to grow up by being over-protective. In “Against the Grain,” which explored Marina growing up with celiac disease, Keegan writes, “there was no escaping it. Summer camp and sleepovers were the same routine – counselors and parents embarrassing me with special snacks tucked away by my mom” (162).
The common ground that the author was trying to reach with her audience was associated with the need to become better people that could help others. Thus, it is not surprising why Keegan explored such an unusual profession as an exterminator in the character of Tommy, who often joked about his occupation in order to avoid becoming the subject of someone else’s ridicule. When choosing their careers, people are often governed by what is profitable at a certain period of time or what would guarantee stability. Exterminators will always be needed to provide services to restaurants, shops, and private homes.
However, one has to have a passion for working in this area for decades, which was true for Tommy: “Why stop?” He shrugs. “I just love it” (Keegan 178). The story teaches the audience not to be embarrassed about their occupations because every job has a purpose. If one is doing it with passion and a few jokes here and there, it has a purpose and would inevitably bring benefit to other people.
To elaborate on the topics chosen as the focus for her essays, Keegan was keen to use vibrant and straightforward language. It is fresh and free of complicated vocabulary that would make the pieces pretentious and thus less interesting. This aspect of her work is particularly important to note because so many young people try to sound older when they write to be taken more seriously. For Keegan, seriousness is not a priority; instead, the dialogues and the narratives are structured in such a way that readers can recognize themselves in writing. When exploring the teenage years as one of the most complex but exciting periods in life, it is essential to hear the perspective of a teenager and not someone pretending to be older.
She is not afraid of using caps letters and exclamations and employs the teenage vernacular to her advantage: “AHHHH ALICE’S ESSAY IS SO GOOD OH MY GOD… ELISA’S IS SO GOOD TOO! Oh my gosh” (Keegan 14). Such a manner of writing is both refreshing and enticing as readers are not perplexed by unfamiliar phrases and jargon that is hard to understand. However, the style of writing is not juvenile to any extent as evidence in her short essay “The Art of Observation”: to be fascinated by, nothing to esteem, nothing to romanticize in this everyday examination of our immutable solipsism.” (Keegan 204). The immaculate structure of the sentences shows the author’s dedication to the subject matter.
The tension between the author, who was growing up to become a writer, and the world around her is a familiar theme that so many people face at some point in their lives (Kristof). The refreshing perspective that Keegan managed to offer her readers goes far beyond the challenge of growing up as the author teaches its audience that aging is a part of living, that it is worth to try harder to pursue a dream career, that their voice as individuals and citizens matters, as well as the fact that everyone is jealous of someone or something (Charbonnier). All of these topics intertwine together to create Keegan’s story, which is sad and optimistic at the same time.
The insightful nature of The Opposite of Loneliness, coupled with a refreshing look on life, makes Marina Keegan’s tragic story heartbreaking (James). However, when reading her quick and witty prose, one develops a sense of optimism for life that is hard to come by in other literary works. Despite the tensions and the struggles of growing up, Keegan’s stories and essays install a sense of new beginnings and a positive outlook on the future.