Balancing the Optimist and Pessimist Within Me
Nowadays, optimism is a rarity. It can be easy to adopt a pessimistic mindset, give up on your goals, and let your dreams slip way. In Learned Optimism by Dr. Martin E. Seligman, both the optimist and the pessimist (mostly the optimist) are examined to get a better understanding of how optimism can be learned. An important thing to remember is that a pessimist can become an optimist. While I learned that it might not be the easiest feat to achieve, reading this book gave insight on how even the most pessimistic-minded individuals can develop newfound ways of optimistic thinking.
Pessimism is the tendency for a person to see the worst part of a situation. Similarly, a pessimistic individual can be described as someone who lacks confidence or hope for what is to come. From Learned Optimism, I learned that pessimism isn’t always a bad thing, and that pessimists may even hold a more realistic view of the world. However, the obvious downside is that being pessimistic sometimes requires helplessness. This can be a big factor in an individual’s ability to overcome their critical inner voice. Although success is usually achieved by optimistic people, Seligman explains that there are certain situations where it is actually best to cut our losses and move on, rather than dwelling on the dead-end situation. This notion of helplessness was also applied to another one of optimism’s features: persistence.
Persistent individuals, he says, are “more immune to helplessness” (pg. 98). And the more persistent one is, the better chance they have at learning how to be more optimistic. After reading this, one might think: “Okay, what if I’m not the most persistent individual? Is there still hope for me?” Dr. Seligman is adamant that optimism can be learned, thus persistence can be increased. This is something that I, personally, have struggled with in the past. In middle school and high school, my study habits were not the best. If a homework assignment was too hard, I would just give up and not even turn it in. Thinking back to my earlier years as a student, I realize that not only was I being the exact opposite of persistent, but I was also listening more to my pessimistic voice. It wasn’t until my freshman year of college that I knew I had to change my study habits and increase my motivation. Reading this book only encouraged me to keep persisting in the future.
Reading Learned Optimism made me mindful of the ways I habitually think when faced with personal, academic, and social problems. For example, when Seligman talked about the critical inner voice, I felt as if he was taking a deep look into my soul. But this book also helped me realize that I was not alone. Everyone is trying to find a balance between optimism and pessimism, whether they know it or not. In short, balance is the key: optimism alone will not solve all of life’s problems and being a die-hard optimist can even be a bad thing. I’ve learned that I need to find the perfect balance of optimism and pessimism that fits into my life. Once I have a good idea of what that is, I can better recognize poisonous situations that I should leave behind, while persevering through temporary difficulties to achieve my dreams.
Asia Chapa has been in the Interactive Measurement Group since Spring 2017. She is currently a senior at UNLV studying Psychology and Criminal Justice. She plans to graduate with her B.A. in Spring 2018. Her interests include the various coping mechanisms of criminals and victims of crime and victim advocacy in the criminal justice system. She hopes to pursue her graduate education in Forensic Psychology.