This past week Rummuser suggested I comment on a New York Times article with the catchy title Seeking a Cure for Optimism. The article argues against extreme positive thinking, the idea that if we just work hard and look on the bright side everything will go the way we want. That conclusion is like the one we came to last week, that having a positive attitude doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep our eyes open and our brains plugged in. Hopefully people who weren’t doing that before have learned from the recent financial crisis.
Let’s face it, it’s not an either-or thing. A positive attitude promotes creativity, flexibility and cooperation, and it motivates us to take action. On the other hand being more negative can cause us to gather more data, look for pitfalls and think more critically. We need both. Brainstorming is a good example. To come up with new ideas that are sound we need both the generative and critical phases.
The article points out too much negative thinking is “just as delusional as unquestioned positive thinking.” We need to encourage realism, to try to see the world “not colored by our wishes or fears, but by reality.”
Amen to that!
What do you think?
What do I THINK? My dear Jean, thinking is to be avoided at all cost since, if you do [think], it’ll land you in the puddles left by the unthinking.
Anyway, never mind. Let’s think. I am an optimist by nature – which in my book means stretching reality, ie what is possible, to breaking point. Also I have noticed, and I am not pleased about it, that pessimists are always in for a nice surprise, optimists usually don’t notice that they are standing in aforementioned puddle and realists are just bland and can’t make up their mind; that’s why they are called ‘realists’ and usually carry an umbrella.
What really cured me and sent me on the way to ‘humoUrous’ grumpiness as befits anyone over the age of fourty is someone in my closer circle who will not be defeated by ANYTHING. It doesn’t help him. He has an IQ the size of the Titanic yet lacks Napoleon’s famously quoted “fortune”. Will that knock the will to live or anything else out of him? No, of course not. Good for him. I admire the guy. But, over the decades, his fate has severely tested my own belief in positive thinking and proven that you can be the most cheerful person in the world with an unshakeable belief in yourself and everyone else, a worth ethic to put Martin Luther (of Bible fame) to shame, yet it won’t guarantee you a platter of oysters or finest Russian caviar.
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Positive thinking, by itself, is going to bring riches to few, and for most, won’t even pay the bill. One had to take charge of one’s own attitude and then work at doing the job in a positive way.
Brainstorming! Hah!
I used to use a form of brainstorming for teaching — still do on occasion. Using a marker board, I write a short concept and then facilitate a discussion by mind mapping the various aspects. Fun! and exhausting!
.-= Mike Goad´s last blog ..Water Lily bud with dragonfly =-.
Seeing the world as it is? A bit of a tall order methinks.
Perhaps the simplest route is to talk to others about the same things. A better understanding (and more effective action) may be reached through collaboration.
.-= Evan´s last blog ..Great Posts on Many Topics =-.
Ursula,
“…thinking is to be avoided at all cost….” How boring that would be. My brain is my favorite toy.
Yep, having a good attitude and work ethic is no guarantee. I’ve been watching a biography of Harry Truman. The poor fellow was extremely upbeat, conscientious and hard working and failed in one endeavor after another. Finally he went into politics and found his niche in the U.S. Senate. He would have been happy there if fate had just left him alone. Instead he was dragooned into being Roosevelt’s last vice-president and was condemned to be president. Sometimes you just can’t win.
I’m a pessimist who is continually being surprised at how things turn out. It works for me. It’s better to be lucky than good, or intelligent. 😉
Mike,
“One has to take charge of one’s own attitude and then work at doing the job in a positive way.” And even with that there are no guarantees. I believe in enjoying the process as much as possible because we never know what the future might hold. I really am a pessimist. But a fairly cheerful pessimist. Maybe I should rename this blog. 🙂
Evan,
Ah, yes. This mystery called life.
My husband is an optimist & I’m a pessimist. He’s almost always right.
“My dear Jean, thinking is to be avoided at all cost since, if you do [think], it’ll land you in the puddles left by the unthinking.”(Said with tongue in cheek.) But this just happened to me.
bikehikebabe,
I’m glad he’s usually right, given that he’s the optimist. The important thing is do you wind up pleasantly surprised? For me that’s the joy of being a pessimist. 🙂
I guess the contrarian in me switches between optimistic and pessimistic depending on the consensus of those around me!
But I do like the line, “My brain is my favorite toy”. I guess that is much preferable to someone else’s brain being your favorite toy!
.-= Looney´s last blog .. =-.
Looney,
It sounds as if you’re an asset to the group if you help it become less one-sided.
“My brain is my favorite toy” comes in handy if I start to worry about something. They say love conquers fear. That’s true, and so does curiosity. If I’m concerned about something it helps to get curious, gather information and slip into a problem-solving mode if possible.
Not that positivity is good or negativity is bad or whatever. Of course we should be realistic and balanced. But negative thinking is very damaging and a realistic positive attitude is better any day.
.-= gaelikaa´s last blog ..A Perfect Life =-.
I am flattered Jean. Thank you.
I opt for acceptism. What choice do I really have? It is, our inability to accept both rather than either or that we land up with grief. You really cannot be one or the other all the time.
.-= Rummuser´s last blog ..The Perfect Life. =-.
Looney says, “But I do like the line, “My brain is my favorite toy”. I guess that is much preferable to someone else’s brain being your favorite toy!”
Even worse is YOUR brain being someone else’s toy.
gaelikaa,
I agree with having an positive attitude, which is different from one-sided positive thinking. For instance one problem in raising kids is to teach them not to trust everything a stranger says without making them overly suspicious of everyone.
Rummuser,
My favorite definition of acceptance is the willingness to perceive reality. “You really cannot be one or the other all the time.” It doesn’t have to be all the time as long as one has a reasonable balance. I notice this in the MBA program my daughter is taking. Her last class was in finance, where they deeply analyzed companies and read their annal reports to see where the strengths and weaknesses are. The course she’s starting now is about how to be an inspiring leader, i.e., how to foster positive attitudes in the group. It’s not either-or, it’s both if the leader/manager wants to be effective.
bikehikebabe,
Amen to that! 🙂
I’m not sure which side of the fence or even which side of any given object I lean towards…this has given me much food for thought – maybe it’s more to do with core values how we look/think about life.
.-= Cathy in NZ´s last blog ..Helpmates in Unexpected Places =-.
Cathy,
“…this has given me much food for thought….” That’s great. That’s what this site is about. 🙂
Rummuser,
Thanks for catching the typo…I will definitely leave it there. 🙂 Yes, that’s why they had to analyze the reports, to try to find the hidden facts.
Jean, my Muse works overtime and it appears that yours does better! “Her last class was in finance, where they deeply analyzed companies and read their annal reports to see where the strengths and weaknesses are.”
The typo is perfect! That is exactly what they are. The reports I mean. All of them, yes, all of them, without exception hide more than they reveal. That is why Accountants and Finance Professionals are so highly paid.
.-= Rummuser´s last blog ..Back Home And Blogging. =-.