Why Do Optimists Do Better in Life Than Pessimists?
Each person has a distinct point of view towards the events which they face. As a result, each individual can interpret the same situation differently so that one may see it as a positive event, whereas another may see it as a negative event. In general, attitudes towards events can be divided into two perspectives: optimistic and pessimistic points of view. When we consider which one is better, conventional wisdom informs us it is the optimistic approach. However, we need to look at why optimists do better in life. There are two main reasons that attest to this fact: seeing results as feedback and an optimist's general feelings before starting a task.
Optimists have a tendency to see all the events in their lives in a positive light. They think all events have the potential to embody positive things. On the other hand, pessimists always have a negative attitude towards events and they always focus on the negative potential of them. Therefore, when a pessimist encounters difficulties or problems, s/he conceives of them as results of external factors. For instance, a pessimist student whose test score is poor tends to blame an exam question which is too difficult or to blame the teacher as an overly strict examiner. Furthermore, s/he does not see a need to change something about his or her studying habits. In contrast, when an optimist is confronted with a problem, s/he sees it as useful feedback and conceives of it as a warning that s/he had better change his or her habits or study style. Again taking a student as an example, consider an optimistic student whose exam result is low. In such a case s/he tries to find her own mistakes that caused this result and whereupon s/he thinks that s/he needs to enhance his or her study style. After improving her study habits, s/he expects better results for the next exam.
In addition to the first fact, the feelings that a person has before doing tasks are also influential for a better life. Before starting to deal with a problem, a pessimist can think that overcoming it is more difficult because of his or her negative feelings. Pessimits tend to face bad results or more generally they tend to anticipate the results of their work as negative. In contrast, optimists generally have positive feelings and they tend to expect to do better in their work. Thanks to this psychology they also generally make more of an effort. As a result, we can say that in anticipation of a task, feelings can shape the outcome. Just as they can lead to positive results, they can also lead to negative outcomes.
All in all, differences between optimistic attitude and pessimistic attitude lead people to do better in life. As a matter of fact, optimists are better at solving problems and they generally do better in life than pessimists by virtue of taking responsiblity for bad results. Therefore pessimits who want to do better in life should try to change their habits and try to be more optimistic. Optimists should also be careful not to be an over-optimist who is always positive in every situation and thus ignore potential problems.
Optimists have a tendency to see all the events in their lives in a positive light. They think all events have the potential to embody positive things. On the other hand, pessimists always have a negative attitude towards events and they always focus on the negative potential of them. Therefore, when a pessimist encounters difficulties or problems, s/he conceives of them as results of external factors. For instance, a pessimist student whose test score is poor tends to blame an exam question which is too difficult or to blame the teacher as an overly strict examiner. Furthermore, s/he does not see a need to change something about his or her studying habits. In contrast, when an optimist is confronted with a problem, s/he sees it as useful feedback and conceives of it as a warning that s/he had better change his or her habits or study style. Again taking a student as an example, consider an optimistic student whose exam result is low. In such a case s/he tries to find her own mistakes that caused this result and whereupon s/he thinks that s/he needs to enhance his or her study style. After improving her study habits, s/he expects better results for the next exam.
In addition to the first fact, the feelings that a person has before doing tasks are also influential for a better life. Before starting to deal with a problem, a pessimist can think that overcoming it is more difficult because of his or her negative feelings. Pessimits tend to face bad results or more generally they tend to anticipate the results of their work as negative. In contrast, optimists generally have positive feelings and they tend to expect to do better in their work. Thanks to this psychology they also generally make more of an effort. As a result, we can say that in anticipation of a task, feelings can shape the outcome. Just as they can lead to positive results, they can also lead to negative outcomes.
All in all, differences between optimistic attitude and pessimistic attitude lead people to do better in life. As a matter of fact, optimists are better at solving problems and they generally do better in life than pessimists by virtue of taking responsiblity for bad results. Therefore pessimits who want to do better in life should try to change their habits and try to be more optimistic. Optimists should also be careful not to be an over-optimist who is always positive in every situation and thus ignore potential problems.
