Optimism: What is it and When Not to Use it

What is optimism?

We live in a society that obsesses over positivity, and pop culture continues to push optimism as a tool for seeking happiness. Avoiding jargon and using common-sense terms, optimism is looking at the bright side, seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, finding the silver lining in a cloud, feeling good about your future and the future of the world, believing that defeat is a temporary setback and not your fault, and confronting a difficult situation and trying harder (Lyubomirsky, 2007; Seligman, 2006). From a psychological perspective, optimism has two key components (Segerstrom, 2006):

1. A thinking bias toward focusing on and recalling positive experiences in your life.
2. A tendency to view your goals as achievable and worthwhile.

An important lesson here is that being optimistic doesn’t mean denying the negative, avoiding all unfavorable information, or constantly trying to control situations that cannot be controlled. 

Benefits of optimism

Besides promoting well-being and decreasing depressive symptoms, optimism has several other benefits (Duggal, 2018):

• Higher levels of self-esteem
• Positive mood
• More resilience to stressful or negative events
• Self-mastery
• Active coping
• Recovery from illnesses, injuries, various types of surgeries, and major life events
• Better immune reactivity
• Better survival rates in certain kinds of cancer, such as breast cancer
• Lower overall mortality risk

Types of optimism

Not much has been written about the types of optimism, and popular media often portray it as a one-size-fits-all construct. But optimism comes in various shades and should not be considered a Pollyannaish view of everything. Here are the types of optimism:

 
Dispositional optimism: Some individuals are naturally optimistic, a trait known as dispositional optimism (Carver & Scheier, 2014). Dispositional optimism is more of a personality trait rather than an anticipation based on a particular situation. Because they expect positive future outcomes, people with dispositional optimism continue to exert effort when they confront an important problem. Pessimists, by contrast, are generally more doubtful about their future and are likely to withdraw effort from goal-related problems. Dispositional optimism has been compared to big optimism, which may be a biologically driven tendency that leads to desirable outcomes by producing a general state of vigor and resilience.

Situational optimism: Also called little optimism, is the product of one’s past experience with specific situations. It promotes desirable outcomes by leading one to pursue specific actions that work well in specific situations. While big optimism helps you reach your life goals, little optimism gets you through day-to-day life.

Flexible optimism: This refers to the choice to use optimism or not, depending on the situation. Optimism works better if the cost of failure in whatever you are trying to accomplish is low. For example, if you are striving to achieve something (e.g., getting a promotion, selling a product, writing a difficult report, or winning a game), or if you want to lead or inspire others (Seligman, 2006). 

Realistic optimism means maintaining a positive outlook while also being open to negative feedback and actively soliciting it. It also means working toward good outcomes with no guarantee that these will occur, especially without effort (Schneider, 2001).

When not to use optimism 

Remember, though, that optimism may not be helpful in every situation and can backfire when the cost of failure is high (Duggal, 2018; Seligman, 2006). Examples include:

• If your goal is to plan for a risky and uncertain future (e.g., optimism is not a good strategy for a frustrated spouse thinking about starting an affair, as it risks a divorce).
• If your goal is to counsel others whose future appears bleak.
• If you want to appear sympathetic to others but haven’t established empathy or confidence in the relationship.
• When goals are likely unachievable, failure to recognize when to quit or disengage from an unattainable goal may lead to mental and physical exhaustion. 
• In specific contexts, such as problem gambling, where, compared to pessimists, optimists maintain positive expectations and continue to gamble after experiencing negative gaming outcomes.

As is true in many realms of life, more is not always better, and the same holds true for optimism. While there is no doubt that optimism has many benefits for well-being, there are situations in which it is not advisable and may even be detrimental.

To learn more about evidence-based self-management techniques that promote mental health and well-being, check out Dr. Duggal's Author Page.

HARPREET S. DUGGAL, MD, FAPA

REFERENCES

Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2014). Dispositional optimism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18(6), 293-299.

Duggal, H. S. (2018). The happiness guide to self-management of depression. Bloomington, IN: Archway Publishing.

Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The how of happiness. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

Schneider, S. L. (2001). In search of realistic optimism: meaning, knowledge, and warm fuzziness. American Psychologist, 56(3), 250-263.

Segerstrom, S. C. (2006). Breaking Murphy’s law. New York, NY: Guilford.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Learned optimism. New York, NY: Vintage Books.