A pessimist can become more optimistic with deliberate practice. Optimism naturally shifts across adulthood, and techniques such as cognitive restructuring, gratitude practice, mindfulness, and therapy help retrain negative expectations. Research following adults over decades shows optimism typically rises through midlife, which means a pessimistic outlook today is not a life sentence. Practicing gratitude may mean using a journal or mentally noting positive events.
Chronic Complainer
- Being that close to negativity is damaging to you as a person and also to your physical and mental health.
- If you’ve always been a fan of pessimism, then getting your mind retrained to see things differently is challenging.
- “We don’t have time to invest in product research, and the finance department won’t approve the request anyway. We need to focus on something more conservative that has a chance of being funded.”
- How many times do you wish that you could shake off the workday when you come home to be with your family?
- The third of Seligman’s dimensions is “personalization.” When we experience a negative event, we can think about it in one of two ways.
Pessimists are adept at making ultimate negative predictions. They project their past negative experiences onto every new situation or idea. If you have $100, you could keep it, spend it on something fun, or lose it. A pessimist will always assume the most negative outcome and warn you not to lose the money. The word pessimist comes from CupidFeel website guide the Latin word “pessimum,” which means “worst.” Contrary to what many people—and certainly pessimists—think and believe, no one is born a pessimist.
Change Your Diet
Once the pessimist feels heard, they may be open to considering other possible outcomes. In such cases, a pessimist might entertain an optimistic idea but will always remain skeptical. The many warnings of a pessimist can save us from problems and mistakes that we, as optimists, might overlook. Just as dreamers and critics differ, optimists and pessimists are opposites that can support each other. If you ask a true pessimist, they will never admit to being pessimistic. They think they are smarter than others because they often know a lot of facts.
She has a particular interest in women’s mental health, burnout, anxiety, and depression. These days everyone seems to be talking about optimism and positive thinking but for some people who are pessimistic such an advice sounds ridiculous. By the way, I’m not referring to toxic positivity here; in other words, pretending that everything is OK when it’s really not. I know from experience that staying positive around negative people can be challenging, but self-preservation is critical. Surround yourself with people, activities, and thoughts that uplift and inspire you.
Thousands of years ago, being a pessimist would have made you more likely to survive. However, that benefit has faded to the point where being pessimistic is mostly negative. With that said, the principle of neuroplasticity also allows us to stop being pessimistic, by simply focusing more on being an optimist. A 2013 article describes a young man known as EB, who has learned to live with only the right half of his brain after a tumor surgery in childhood. Brain functions related to language are usually localized in the left hemisphere, but it seems that in EB’s case, the right hemisphere has taken over these functions, allowing EB to have almost full command over language.