Pessimists have much to offer society. I would not go as far to write that pessimism is the best policy, but I would not take the other extreme and support my superintendent’s pitch that “Optimism Is the Best Policy.”
True to the optimist approach, my super outlined in a recent blog posting the many positive benefits of optimism, like “...that optimists are: healthier, less likely to give up, more successful in school, on the job, and on the playing field, more successful in relationships, depressed less often, and for shorter periods of time.” Furthermore, she affirms “optimists help create some of the good they come to expect, so they are probably right more than not – and they don’t waste time worrying about what they’re not right about.”
Who would criticize such an optimistic view of optimism? Optimists won’t. The dirty, but noble work of critical thinking is left to the pessimists.
