Optimism and pessimism are more than “glass-half-full” and “glass-half-empty”. Let’s dissect:
Optimism and pessimism are often thought of as 'glass-half-full’ and ‘glass-half-empty’ thinking. They are thought of as being positive, and seeing the good, or being negative and always seeing the bad. But optimistic and pessimistic belief systems (or the ways we think about the world and ourselves) is more nuanced than that.
To help expand your understanding of optimism and pessimism, I want to introduce you to Martin Seligman’s descriptions. Overall, Dr. Seligman describes three pillars that determine if someone has a more optimistic or pessimistic belief system. These three pillars are:
Personalization
Pervasiveness
Permanence
It took me a while to actually understand the difference between these three pillars. So, I am going to keep this simple.
Personalization is how much we make a situation about us as a human or individual. Like, do you believe that you are at the center of what is happening, or do you know that sometimes life is unpredictable and we can only control so much? The more you realize that we can only control so much of life, and that we are not at the center of everything that happens, the more optimistic you might be. But if your stories highlight you, as an individual, separate from the happenings of life, the more pessimistic you might be.
Pervasiveness refers to how all encompassing your beliefs are. Like, do you believe that your entire value is reflected in one incident? Or do you believe that you are a complex human being, who exists in multiple contexts, and situations that play out are only a reflection of that space? If you know you are a complex human being, where events are only situational (rather than a reflection of your entire existence), you might be more optimistic!
Permanence refers to how long lasting your stories are. Like, do you believe hard things will always happen? Or do you know they will eventually come to an end? If you know hardships are momentary, you are probably more optimistic.
I always find examples helpful. So, let’s walk through a situation.
Imagine you are running late to practice. You could find your keys on the way out of the door. Then traffic was crazy, you hit a train. When you finally show-up to the venue, parking is absurd, adding another delay.
Ugh. Irritating. Right?
But maybe not?
Pessimism might sound like: “Why am I like this?” or “This always happens to me” or "I’ll never be on time”
Personalized statements, very much about the self
Very pervasive and encompasses your entire being
And fairly permanent, without a clear ending
Optimism might sound like: “Hmm, where did I put my keys last?” or “*eye roll*, traffic is crazy” or “being late is annoying because I want to respect people’s time but it happens sometimes”
Statements are less personal and more about the situation, acknowledging that context is playing a role in what is happening
Less pervasive, where you are not placing your value as a human, overall, into a single situation of running late
And it is much less permanent, where you know you will eventually find your keys, you will eventually get there, and life will go on.
Being optimistic is not about feeling “positive” all the time. You can absolutely be optimistic about life, and feel frustration or annoyance in difficult moments. But being optimistic is about keeping yourself, as a human, separate from the difficult moments you are in.
Now, why do we care?
We care because having an optimistic belief system make life overall a little more enjoyable. In sport, specifically, being more optimistic is a way to cope with challenges more easily. In turn, optimistic athletes are more resilient, less prone to burning out, and are more likely to perform better overall (i.e., being self-motivated, sportsmanlike conduct, staying level headed; Sehrawat et al., 2024).
From personal experience, being more optimistic has also helped me actually take accountability for patterns that were showing up. Rather than thinking the world was out to get me, I realized there were things I was doing to perpetuate hardships in my life. Becoming more optimistic, and separating my humanness from hardships, made it easier to make tangible changes, and lessen how often my life felt like it was on fire.
It is also important to note that becoming more optimistic is not as simple as adding a few self-affirmations to your routine. Becoming more optimistic takes intentional effort to write new stories about how the world operates, and what your role is in it.
Let me say this again: rewriting your belief system takes intentional effort.
Let me know if you are interested in doing this work - I would love to be part of your support system as you make that change!
Much love,
Karissa
