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Pessimist or Optimist-Live Long Enough to Find Out
by author Dr. Mark Davies

Is your glass half empty or half full? Research suggests that if you are an optimist and judge the glass half full, then you are more likely to live a longer, happier, and more satisfying life. The evidence is overwhelming-optimists enjoy better health than their more pessimistic brothers and sisters. They also:

• have lower rates of depression
• catch fewer infectious diseases
• have a stronger immune system
• respond better to cancer treatment

Despite the benefits of optimism, however, many of us tend to be pessimistic-we prefer to be prepared for the worst. Pessimism, of course, has its place. It is great when things are risky or uncertain or if the stakes are high. For example, if I think there is something wrong with me physically I want a pessimistic doctor to do the checkup because a pessimist will do a thorough examination looking for the worst, which is to my benefit. But if I do have something serious, the last thing I want is a pessimistic doctor to treat me-I want an optimist! Optimists won’t give up and will try everything in their power to help me. While pessimism is good in some circumstances, overall the research suggests that it is far more beneficial to approach life with a “the glass is half full” attitude.

In his book Learned Optimism, psychologist Martin Selgiman states emphatically that we can all learn to be more optimistic. All of us interpret the world around us, and we tend toward seeing the world, and our life, in largely positive or negative terms. Three critical factors determine whether we take an optimistic or pessimistic view of the world: permanence, pervasiveness, and personalization.

Permanence: Pessimists see the good things in life as being transitory, and believe that the bad things are here to stay. Optimists are the exact opposite. They see the bad things as being temporary and the good things as having more permanence. If a pessimist has a stroke of good fortune, she is likely to say, “It is my lucky day.” Whereas an optimist would say, “I am lucky.”

Pervasiveness: Pessimists see negative things as being universal (“diets never work”) and good things as being specific to the situation (“I lost some weight but I will probably gain it back”). In contrast, optimists describe setbacks in very specific terms (“I fell off my diet, but it was just because it was the weekend”) but when things are positive, they see it in more universal terms (“This diet is really working”).

Personalization: Pessimists, when things go wrong, tend to see them as a result of their own personal failings or shortcomings, but when things go well, they tend to dismiss the good fortune as “just getting lucky.” However, when things go wrong for optimists, they are more likely to believe it was “just bad luck.” When things go well for optimists, they see it as “a result of hard work.” Certainly, sometimes failure is our fault and we need to recognize and take responsibility for it. But all too often we are far too negative and self-critical when bad things happen.

I challenge you to take a test. For the next week, whenever something really good or something really bad happens, see how you interpret it. Check your response with the three characteristics listed above. If you are consistently pessimistic, see if there is a new way of understanding what has happened to you-a more optimistic way. Not only will you feel better, you will probably live longer.

Dr. Mark Davies is a registered psychologist who teaches full-time at Care/Regent Colleges in Vancouver. He also has a private practice, the Rainbow Clinic, in Surrey, BC. Dr. Davies is also a popular seminar speaker.

Source: alive #253, November 2003