the four benefits of pessimism
I use Twitter. One of the things it's revealed about my personality is that I tend to have a negative, pessimistic outlook to events. I've come to see my pessimism as a problem. It's a problem in how people see me online, at work, and in personal interaction, but it's also potentially limiting my emotional and action response to problems.
Example: A fifth grade class in Michigan awards the biggest readers with a ride on a rail trail, accompanied by teachers, parents, and a fire truck. The fire truck is "for safety," the news article states. Now, you should know it's my job to make it possible for kids to bike and walk to school. My response on Twitter:
"It took 20 chaperones and a fire truck escort to let kids ride a rail trail? Even happy stories make me angry. http://is.gd/PabE"
Then my colleague pointed out that all the parents probably wanted to go along because it's fun - and the firemen, too. It's a feel good event. I hadn't thought of it that way. If I want to make it my job to sell people on riding bikes I should probably accept they may, you know, want to. And an unnecessarily negative response comes at an emotional cost.
So I admitted that pessimism may be a problem. But then I thought that before I make a concerted effort to be more positive, I should look at the benefits of pessimism. I was surprised at how easy they were to identify.
1. Snark. I'm quite good at making sarcastic, cynical jokes. Loads of fun at parties. And I'd argue that the fraternal twins of sarcasm and cynicism are derived from a tendency to see the dark side of everything. Not a key to happiness, for sure, but it's something I'd miss.
2. Motivation. When you think everything's going to turn out all right, you're less likely to want to change things for the better. Because I'm pessimistic about the (short term) future, I'm more inspired and engaged (pissed and angry?) to do something to make it better.
3. Pleasant surprises. It goes without saying that when you think things will go to crap, you're pleasantly surprised when they don't. And it's easier to roll with it when they do.
4. Strategic foresight. This is the big one. When you tend to look at something and automatically think about what could go wrong, you're already one step ahead of most people. Identifying the potential problems early and often allows you to engage them with solutions, plan around them, and develop contingency plans. It's the core of problem solving. And I think a pessimistic (problem-oriented) outlook makes it possible.
So where am I going with this? I'm not sure. For the emotional health of myself and others around me I know I want to be a more positive person, and I know I want to appear to be a more positive person, but not at the cost of the four benefits I've described. Perhaps there's a middle ground, or a third angle I haven't arrived at yet. When I get there I'll let you know.
