They believe in affirmations, visualizations, and other forms of manifestations without action. Their hope of a better future isn’t anchored on reality, but something of serendipity. Unrealistic Optimists think that things are going to get better… without them having to do anything.
They see the world as it is, not what they want it to be. They have data, facts, and information to support their thinking. Realists have an accurate assessment of what’s going on in their world. Rarely, if ever, do they do something about their situations. They look at facts, accept situations, and go their own merry way.
The reason is simple: it helped me to think of ways to answer his concerns and make the initiatives better. But he raised concerns because the old way gives bonuses without any comprehensive reason why.Īt first, I was frustrated by the pushback. Everyone in the company liked it because it showed clear progress on how you’ll go from one level to another. Primarily, trying to defend the old way of performance evaluation. No matter how good an idea is, no matter the benefit it will give to people (I was working in HR), he criticized it.įor example, when my team and I thought of ways to give people bonuses based on their performance, he raised too many concerns. When I was still working in the corporate, I had a co-worker who found fault with anything. But obsessing on things going wrong is an entirely different matter. Thinking about what could go wrong can help you prevent them. Some pessimism is needed in life since it allows you to see the bigger picture. Pessimists believe that things are about to get worse than they are. There’s a healthier dose of skepticism and avoiding risk. This is slightly better than unrealistic pessimism. They always think that the sky is falling and there’s no better tomorrow. When bad things happen, they bathe themselves in self-pity. They say toxic things, think ill thoughts, and see unfortunate events as lasting. Maybe you’ve been around people who drain all your energy with their mere presence. Is the most toxic response you can ever get. When events happen to us, we respond to them depending on what perspective (prism) we look through.Īt any given event, there are at least 5 ways you can process and interpret them: Unrealistic Pessimism It’s true for physics as it’s true for life. The result being we see different colors of a spectrum, often a rainbow. When light passes through a prism, it refracts light onto the other side.
It is what you do about what happens that counts. It’s not what happens that determines the major part of your future. Instead, your expectations are grounded in truth and reality. You aren’t positive for positivity’s sake. Realistic Optimism is about expecting good outcomes with reality as its basis. The goal, therefore, is not to be “optimistic.” But to find or do something to be optimistic about. Positive thinking doesn’t work unless anchored into something real. In this article, we’ll define realistic optimism and why it’s a better alternative than the good old positive thinking. That’s why we need a perspective that’s both real and practical. But unchecked, it can be a recipe for frustration. Optimism is an essential ingredient for a joyful and fulfilling life.