The Colors of Optimism

I was reading the most recent book by Martin E.P. Seligman, Flourishing, which I highly recommend.  There are many interesting aspects of the book.  He highlights the research on optimism and the multiplicity of positive effects which it has in peoples' lives.  One positive effect for example is lower rates of coronary vascular disease.  (I am not going to outline all of the benefits of optimism here.  Just Google "benefits of optimism") and you will find numerous sites providing a list of the current experimentally validated benefits of such a positive outlook.)

However, reading his book, I found myself wondering just how optimistic is it realistic to be?

You have of course heard the following definitions:
The normal optimist--sees the glass as half full.
The normal pessimist--sees the glass as half empty.

Here are some more:
The radical optimist--It is bound to rain and refill my glass.
The radical pessimist--The little bit of water that I have is going to evaporate eventually, and I will have nothing.
The pragmatist--Simply goes to the faucet and fills the glass up without thinking about it.

On a more serious note, I realized that there are many "flavors" or "colors" of optimism.

The pragmatic optimist--This person understands the reflexive aspects of optimism.  If I expect the best and act like it is going to happen, it is more likely to come true.  Being optimistic leads me to better health behaviors. The pessimist might think that they have little control over their health outcomes.  Then by not trying to exert a positive effect, they do not do what they are capable of doing--having checkups, exercising, and so on.  If I am positive and optimistic, I will try harder at tasks.  I won't feel that I am wasting my time.  I won't be putting in a half hearted effort.  If I am positive, then people will also likely respond to me more positively.   

Moreover, it is also pragmatic because it feels better to be optimistic.  If I am anticipating something negative will happen every day of my life, even if it never happens, I will be more likely to feel down and even depressed.  If the events I worry about never happen, in one sense they might as well have.  One elderly woman I tested in the hospital told me that she had been sure that she was terminally ill; she had believed this since her early 20's!  How awful this must have made her feel--emotionally and physically-- for all of those years.

The protective pessimist--Some people feel that it just hurts too much to be disappointed.  They believe that it would feel better to not expect the best and then not be disappointed rather than expect the best and be disappointed.  Moreover, they believe if they prepare for the worst, they will be better prepared.

The focused optimist.  I perhaps like this one the best.  I will start by assessing a situation for all of the possible positive and negative outcomes and preparing for the reasonable eventualities.  Then I will stay focused on the positive potential.  Better things are likely to happen if I am positively focused.

The tres chic philosophical pessimist--The undergraduate who has read too much Sartre.  This type of person believes that it is just too naive to be optimistic.  There is too much suffering in the world.  They believe that a truly sophisticated person must be more cynical and pessimistic.

The philosophical optimist, a la Alfred North Whitehead--the world is evolving and getting better.  My philosophy says so. Alfred North Whitehead and Bergson had very positive philosophical systems which stated that the world (universe) was constantly evolving into a better place.

The theological pessimist--This person almost literally believes that the world is going to hell.  There may be a belief that terrible things must soon happen in order to fulfill Biblical prophecy.

The theological optimist--This person focuses on Bible passages which says that God is in charge of the world and that He will win over chaos, evil, and despair.  There is more of a focus on heaven than on hell.

There is both personal optimism and global optimism.  In personal optimism, I believe that my life will flourish.  In global optimism, I believe that the world will continue to advance and overcome negative forces. 

One might have both of these (My life will do okay, and the world will do okay).  Or one might be a personal pessimist and global pessimist (My life is going down the drain, and so is the world).  It might be possible to have one and not the other (My life is going to do okay, but the world is falling apart; or My life is going down the tubes, but the rest of the world will do okay.)  I suspect that personal optimism and global pessimism are correlated, but I don't know that for sure.

Ultimately, we have to have something to base optimism on.  It cannot be just wishful thinking.  As a cognitive therapist, I counsel my patients to test out their negative thoughts.  If they have fortune telling thoughts, follow up on them, and see if they come true.  I continue to have negative, fortune telling thoughts (unfortunately), and I can tell you that most of mine never come true.  They are generally a waste of time and energy.  Try it out for yourself, and see if you aren't wasting time with most of your negative predictive thoughts.  If they do come true, consider the possibility that they are reflexive, that is that they are self-fulfilling prophecies. 

For the time being, I am going to choose to be a focused optimist.  I am also a theological optimist.  These two go together well for me.  In my personal life, I will consider all of the things which could happen, and I will prepare for most eventualities.  Then I will focus my energy on pursuing the positive outcomes which could happen and act as if I expect them to happen.