It is also distinct from subjective “optimism”, which cannot really be classified as optimism because by dropping objectivity and ignoring relevant facts, a subjectivist is sure not to achieve optimal results but certain failure. This approach is obviously distinct from pessimism, the mental method or tendency to focus on and/or inflate the unfavorable conditions one has to deal with and to expect failure.
To be objective means that one identifies and appreciates all facts, and then to be optimistic means that given the relevant facts, one chooses to focus on what one has to build upon in achieving one’s best possible results and not on what one lacks or what might thwart one’s goals. Objective optimism is the willful mindset or method applied toward optimizing results in a given context. They are diametric fundamental approaches to life-and I think very literally that they are life and death alternatives.
Either view is a correct assessment of reality, so who’s the realist? I’ll discuss that more later, but this example helps illustrate for now that optimism versus pessimism is not a matter of making either a true or false positive or negative analysis of a given situation but that each designates a particular choice of focus. “He is optimistic about the business plan,” or, “I have to admit I’m a bit pessimistic about our chances in this tournament with so many strong teams, but I wouldn’t say that to our players.” Such expressions amount to: “Weighing the relevant facts, I expect this particular venture will succeed or not.” In my view, while we may understand what a person means to say these things and it’s fine to use them this way in a narrow context, neither example tells us anything about whether a person is characteristically an optimist or pessimist or what those concepts even are. They are often taken to denote either a positive or negative assessment of some facts in reality in a given situation, e.g. Moreover, I think the concepts of both optimism and pessimism are often defined or used either superficially or out of context. We may all turn to something better than this default. With this, I aim to put forth a positive and rational framework that can empower individuals to build an optimal, flourishing life for themselves while properly defaming the debilitating and destructive (and wholly unnecessary) outlook of pessimism and cynicism. I propose, however, to articulate such an alternative in the form of objective optimism, unpacking it from association with the irrationality of mere fingers-crossed hopers. That view is not without foundation, however, as blind “optimists” exist, running amok with their… ignorance… naivety, and immaturity, serving to discredit any rationally positive approach to life and to bolster the reputation of the wise pessimist.īut this reputation is won only by default, in the absence of a sensible alternative. The child is an adult now, properly cynical and “realistic.” “I have observed that not the man who hopes when others despair, but the man who despairs while others hope, is admired by a large class of persons as a sage.”Īn optimist is an adorable but pitiful child who expects the best in the world until such a sage elder (or harsh reality) snaps them out of their foolish, idealistic notions and expectations. A Morgan Housel article does well to highlight a few reasons why pessimism is sexy, but John Stuart Mill in any case identified the tendency over 150 years ago: It is associated with ignorance, naivety, and immaturity. But I’ve been living and learning for a long while, and in this first “essay,” it is the most comprehensive formulation I can make to date. The method itself demands that I never cease to revise and reorganize my ideas into clearer and more precise concepts as I take on challenges from others (and myself) and as I live and learn. In spite of all that, please consider the following a hypothesis and not a definitive proclamation. Each aspect of my life improves to the extent I apply this framework, and it falters to the extent I stray from it. I say simply that it corresponds with my experience, organizing without contradiction the successes and failures I’ve observed in other people and in my own life. But that doesn’t disqualify the following hypothesis as haphazard or necessarily invalid. Note: I am not a philosopher or psychologist nor any kind of expert in either field.
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