How to Make Pessimism Work for You
The surprising benefits of being a pessimist
It’s rarely a compliment when somebody calls you a pessimist. But it’s also been shown that pessimism can spur you to act like nothing else can! Here are four ways to make your naturally pessimistic take on the world work for you.
From Pessimism to Preparation
Being aware that unexpected things can happen, whether in a relationship or during a presentation, often feels like a disadvantage. It doesn’t have to be. Use the imaginative power that often comes along with your pessimistic thoughts, and imagine a few things that might go wrong with a future event or job.
Once you’ve thought of a few “worst-case scenarios,” you’ll feel motivated to prepare as much as possible. Think the Internet might go down during your presentation? Make sure you have a way to cover your material offline. Think you might be late to an appointment? Research a couple of different ways to get there, and leave just a bit earlier. Being prepared for at least one or two unexpected twists can make you feel much more confident that “you’ve got this.”
Allow Your Pessimism to Work Its Charm
Often people who worry a bit can be self-effacing charmers who use humor to defuse their own (and others) anxiety. Don’t try to hide all of your negative thoughts. Use them to (kindly) question others’ assumptions or decisions made through groupthink.
Undoubtedly people are drawn to confident, optimistic people. But pessimists also bring an understated and very necessary charm to social and work functions. They’re rarely “know-it-alls” and they often, like introverts, can help others who are a bit quieter to instead step forward and share their ideas in a more diversified and welcoming setting.
Pessimists Aren’t Just Better Informed, They Can Be More Accepting
A 2011 the University of North Dakota study of the elderly found that those individuals who were realistic about the aging processes and challenges they were facing were less prone to debilitating depression.
This has important implications for anyone who’s been told they have a pessimistic outlook. Pessimists who feel that they’re more accepting of reality can free up their mental energy to address real problems and challenges, and affect change. This might make them more effective paradigm changers than their more complacent optimistic counterparts.
Pessimists Know the Pleasure of the “Pleasant Surprise”
When you sometimes suspect that bad things might happen, when they don’t (which is frequently), you often get the thrill of the feeling of surprised relief. Optimists simply don’t know the deeply pleasurable feeling of the “pleasant surprise” — when something goes well when you didn’t really expect it to.
People with more pessimistic feelings might also be better at working through the emotional implications of events and choices before those things even happen. This can make them not only better planners and more flexible thinkers, but can also help them “brace” for the worst — and therefore be able to think more clearly when they run into problems.
Pessimism doesn’t have to be a personality characteristic that paralyzes you with unhappiness or makes you an unpleasant person to know. Make your pessimism work for you by preparing and planning for the future, letting it make you a more open-minded (and more popular) person, accepting reality, and enjoying the unparalleled thrill of the pleasant surprise.
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