![]() This view receives implicit support from Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman and his late colleague, Amos Tversky. Having reckoned what to do in the worst possible circumstances, when better arise, as they may, life becomes child’s play. It is the only view of life in which you can never be disappointed. Pessimism is, in brief, playing the sure game. Despite the fact that expecting the worst can be extremely psychological painful, pessimists are, by their nature, fairly immune to disappointment.Īs the English writer Thomas Hardy noted: Studies consistently show that a large majority of the population ( about 80% according to most estimates) display an overly optimistic outlook.īut pessimism does have its advocates. Perhaps this is why unrealistic optimism – the tendency to overestimate the likelihood that good things will happen and underestimate the likelihood that bad things will happen – is one of the most pervasive human traits. ![]() In happiness terms, optimistic thinking seems to be a win-win strategy. The idea is not merely that optimistic thinking dispels present gloom, but that it also launches a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby simply believing in success delivers it. When you expect the best, you release a magnetic force in your mind which by a law of attraction tends to bring the best to you. Self-help books tend to promote a similar message, with Norman Vincent Peale’s bestseller The Power of Positive Thinking claiming: Life coaches and motivational speakers often treat positive thinking as the key to happiness. This article originally appeared on The Conversation, and is republished under a Creative Commons licence.
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