The Benefits Of Defensive Pessimism

In his article, The Power of Negative Thinking, Oliver Burkeman discusses the realities behind excessive optimism and the benefits to negative thinking. Specifically, Burkeman argues that positive thinking hinders the preparation and motivation necessary to tackle actual real world problems whereas negative thinking allows for such preparation. His argument’s strengths come from his constant use of logic in regards to his evidence whether it be the “fire walkers” in the first paragraph or the opinions of Barbara Ehrenreich in the paragraph nine. In short, Burkeman does a superb job of championing the benefits of pessimism through his criticism on positive thinking.

Lang, explains through a series of scientific studies that pessimism can sometimes be a better form of seeing life than optimism. Throughout the article studies are being done on different age groups, the youngest group always shows a “sunny” outlook on life while the middle aged group is logical and realistic. Optimism has shown health complications and mental issues in older people (Lang, 2013). I usually do not think negatively about life, but as an improvement I should start seeing life for what it truly is, unpredictable and inconvenient in order to prevent a distasteful lifestyle in the

An article written by Kendra Cherry states, “By nurturing positive emotions, even in the face of terrible events, people can reap both short-term and long-term rewards, including managing stress levels, lessening depression, and building coping skills that will serve them well in the future” (Cherry). Optimism has allowed for people to deal with conflicts in a healthy way. Neuroscientist Tali Sharot in her book The Science of Optimism: Why We’re Hard-Wired for Hope argues that optimism provides an adaptive advantage. According to her, “Expecting our future to be good reduces stress and anxiety, which is good for our health. Researchers studying heart attack patients have found that optimists were more likely than nonoptimistic patients to take vitamins, eat low-fat diets, and exercise, thereby reducing their overall coronary risk” (Popova). Dealing with conflicts positively is better for your health and it decreases bad health

Some people argue that happiness helps make good decisions because happy people strive for the best result. David states, “[Positive emotions] help build vital social, physical, and cognitive resources that lead to positive outcomes and affiliations” (124). David points out that with the right amount of positivity, people make good judgments. The author acknowledges that happiness can have benefits, but she states that too much happiness could hurt human development because the mind does not consider the consequences of an action. Julie Norem, a psychology professor, points out, “’If you’re a pessimist who really thinks through in detail what might go wrong, that’s a strategy that’s likely to work very well for you’” (qtd. in Wallis). She explains

Many believe that you can only be optimistic if you are successful, as good things happening to you can cause a better mood. However, Seligman believed the opposite. He thought that having an optimistic outlook creates success. Things cannot go well for you if you always think on the bad side of things, therefore, if you are more optimistic, you will be able to bounce back faster from hardship and be more able to become successful once again. However, pessimism can also be learned. If a person believes that everything bad that happens is their fault, they will become more pessimistic and unwilling to try new things, as they believe they will mess up. This thought can be taught in young children. Often, children who are abused or bullied at a young age can develop a pessimistic outlook as they are told that bad events are their

There are times in this world when rolling out of bed and putting on a brave face is the only thing that seems sensible enough to get you through the day. You slurp down your morning cup of coffee, glare at yourself in the mirror, and wonder what’s the point of it all? Why am I living my life half exhausted wandering from place to place doing what I’m told when I’m told to make myself a living? This is exactly how a pessimist often thinks;, they tend to see only the worst in a scenario or believe that only the lowest possible situation will happen. I have chosen not to live my life like that, I have chosen to not only try to lead each day with a positive mind and a healthy attitude, but I have also decided to spread optimism to others by the simple gestures such as a smile. I will admit that at times being an optimistic person isn’t always easy because

In this Ted Talk cognitive neuroscientist Tali Sharot shared with us the concept of optimism bias and the research that she has been doing on the very topic. She spoke about it as being an illusion. Her description of optimism bias is that we tend to think we will have more positive things happen in our life than bad one. We overestimate the good and underestimate the bad. Optimism bias is something that people throughout the world experience from young to old people. She gave marriage as an example of this kind of bias and stated that forty percent of people that get married will get a divorce but people who just got married will say that there it is unlikely they will end up divorcing. Despite the facts people

When I see someone being very pessimistic I know now that they can be changed to have a more optimistic view. I can even change my own life. If I am felling very pessimistic I can remember this and how there is always a better way to think about something. Knowing my signature strengths is important too because I know what and how I deal with things. I can alter how I do things to better support the person I truly am. I need use this knowledge to better my interactions with people and how I approach challenge.

I began community college in the fall of 2016 with the notion to get involved and find my clique before transferring on to a University later on. So, I researched upon campus clubs and found that there was not a lot offered other than clubs related to a certain major. Being a liberal arts student at the time, I wanted to help break this barrier to have a fun club and take initiative to find my kind of people in this setting.

Prompt #1: Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean In Nicomachean Ethics Book 2, Aristotle described a virtue being the “mean” of two extremes of “excess and deficiency”, also known as Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean. One of the examples that Aristotle gave in the Book 2 was bravery as a virtue. Bravery being the mean (middle ground) of cowardice and rashness, where cowardice is the extreme deficiency (lack) of bravery and rashness being the extreme excess (abundance) of it. When a person is described as brave it is looked at a positive light because of them having a moderation of the two extremes either they don’t run in fear in every situation but also they do not charge into situations that most people would agree would be too hasty.

hardship, and being optimistic during that hardship. A person’s view of the world can affect how

One fundamental concept core to my mentor’s approach to life is to maintain a positive outlook. She describes the adverse effects she has seen in those around her when they have allowed themselves to become entrapped in feelings of pessimism and negativity and recognizes the toll it

Depleted uranium (DU, Q-metal, D-depletalloy, or D-38) is uranium with a lower concentration of the fissible isotope U-235 than natural uranium. Natural uranium consists of 99.28% U-238, 0.71% U-235, and 0.0054% U-234.1 Nuclear reactors use uranium as their basic fuel in the form of UO2.2 DU is a byproduct from enriching natural UO2 to use in these nuclear power reactors. Uranium decays slowly by emitting an alpha particle. U-238 has a 4,510,000,000-year half-life and U-235 has a 247,000-year half-life; which means that DU is significantly less radioactive than natural uranium. Although it also has civilian uses, DU byproduct majorly has military uses.3,4 Properties that make DU suitable for military weaponry, as a part of kinetic-based armor-piercing shells are its high density and pyrophoric nature.5

Being optimistic is the main principle for most people. We may often hear the statement about “be an optimist, not a pessimist!” shouted by people. Sometimes you do it for yourself too. When facing such a failure or problem, this will not only help to relieve your heart. Being optimistic will help someone to be healthy in physical and mental. An optimist will find the best way in any circumstance and hope for every good thing can come to him/her. You may have gone through thousands of hard times. However, if you are a born optimist then you will not care of anything destructing you.

Optimistic and pessimistic attitudes constantly affect the outcome of people's lives. In my life, I try to keep an optimistic attitude about the things I do because I know it will help lead me to more desirable ends. There have been many situations in which optimism has helped me through difficult times. Two areas in particular have provided me optimistic experiences: athletics