Mythbusting myths on pessimism #1

“Pessimism is only the name that men of weak nerves give to wisdom” – Bernard De Voto

Allow me to start this article by affirming that I’m not a pessimistic person. And I’m not an optimist either. I’m between them, I am both. In the words of Albert Schweizer, “To the question whether I am a pessimist or an optimist, I answer that my knowledge is pessimistic, but my willing and hoping are optimistic.”

Now, if we are to have a correct conversation here, we’ll need to establish a clear frame by defining the terms in discussion.

pessimism

1: an inclination to emphasize adverse aspects, conditions, and possibilities or to expect the worst possible outcome

2 a: the doctrine that reality is essentially evil b: the doctrine that evil overbalances happiness in life

optimism

1 : a doctrine that this world is the best possible world

2 : an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome

In the age-old battle between the two, pessimists think optimists are foolish and optimists think pessimists make themselves unnecessarily miserable. And while most people have taken a position at one of the ends by being either essential optimists or essential pessimists, the common sense concept of equilibrium seems to have been forgotten.

equilibrium

a state of intellectual or emotional balance

But we digress. Let’s see what myths we have about pessimistic people.

The #1 myth: negative thinking is not more realistic than positive thinking

Even the most ardent intelligent defenders of optimism accept the fact that negative thinking is more realistic than positive thinking! It is a well known fact that optimists tend to gloss over obstacles and minimize problems. An optimist doesn’t create a balanced picture of circumstances and tends to idealize situations disproportionately.

Unfortunately, the world we live in isn’t perfect, and so the realistic thinking of the pessimist often leads to depression.

From a purely medical standpoint it’s a good thing that most of the people are self-delusional optimists.

Studies have shown that most people are optimists and that they believe to have far more control and more skills than they actually do have. For instance, the majority of drivers consider themselves more skillful than the average driver. And over 95% of new college/university students believed they would graduate whereas the actual failure rate is about 25%. Most people, by being optimists, believe they have far more control over their lives than is actually the case.

Even so, the self-delusion of positive thinking has been found to be rather healthy, resulting in slightly more successes, better health and longer life than the realistic pessimist thinking. Which reminds me of a story…

… in the old days it was known that eagles lived only five years while crows, on the other hand, lived to be one hundred. One day an eagle who wanted to live longer went to a crow for advice. When the crow saw the eagle, he thought he was being hunted. The eagle assured that he meant no harm, but rather needed advice. Relieved, the crow agreed, and the eagle told him about wanting to live longer, asking about the secret of long life.The crow answered, “it is very simple, there are two things that you must stop doing. You always fly high in the mountains where the thin air shortens your life. Instead you must learn to fly low just like I do.” The eagle asked, “what is the second thing?” The crow replied, “you must not hunt your food and eat fresh meat. Hunting and eating fresh meat also shorten your life. You must scavenge your food and eat with ease like me. Food you find in garbage makes you live longer”.

After hearing this, the eagle said, ” I will never stop flying high since it is in my blood, nor can I stop hunting for my food.”

“I would rather live five years as an eagle than live a life of a crow for hundred years.”

I could offer many examples of why pessimists are more realistic than optimist, but I don’t want to lengthen this article too much.

Myth busted! Pessimistic thinking is more realistic than optimistic thinking.

The #2 myth: pessimism is less agreeable than optimism

Here’s a quote that I found: “Pessimism, when you get used to it, is just as agreeable as optimism.” – Arnold Bennett

Affirming that an optimistic person is more agreeable than a pessimistic one misses one important element from its view: we tend to like those who are like us. And because most of us are biased towards being optimistic, it’s only natural that most people feel that pessimists are a less agreeable bunch. But hey, pessimists hold optimists in the same light.

And so because the two views are canceling each-other, it’s safe to affirm that this myth is busted! When you get used to it, pessimism is just as agreeable as optimism.

The #3 myth: pessimism creates worry, trouble and health issues, so we’re better off without it

For this myth, I’ll quote two short paragraphs from Arthur Schopenhauer’s “Studies in Pessimism.” They go like this:

A certain amount of care or pain or trouble is necessary for every man at all times. A ship without ballast is unstable and will not go straight.

Certain it is that work, worry, labor and trouble, form the lot of almost all men their whole life long. But if all wishes were fulfilled as soon as they arose, how would men occupy their lives? what would they do with their time? If the world were a paradise of luxury and ease, a land flowing with milk and honey, where every Jack obtained his Jill at once and without any difficulty, men would either die of boredom or hang themselves; or there would be wars, massacres, and murders; so that in the end mankind would inflict more suffering on itself than it has now to accept at the hands of Nature.

Myth busted! We need pessimism and pessimist people, we need pain and trouble and health issues in our lives. They’re unpleasant, sure, but we need ‘em!

For more myths related to pessimism, for a more in-depth look into its ups and downs and for the ideal ‘driving line’ between optimism and pessimism, stay close! Until then, keep growing!