Always Look on the Bright Side?

Should you always look on the bright side of life? Barbara Ehrenreich begins her book Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America with the following rosy image of Americans:

Americans are a “positive” people. This is our reputation as well as our self-image. We smile a lot and are often baffled when people from other cultures do not return the favor. In the well-worn stereotype, we are upbeat, cheerful, optimistic, and shallow, while foreigners are likely to be subtle, world-weary, and possibly decadent.

Living in America, we might not always experience this “happiness” since it is constant feature. But we certainly experience the bumper stickers and plethora of signs that state, “Don’t worry, be happy!” or “Smile and the world smiles with you.” Doesn’t being happy or at least exhibiting happiness improve the world? As Ehrenreich points out, “Surely the world would be a better, happier place if we all greeted one another warmly and stopped to coax smiles from babies – if only through the well-known social psychological mechanism of “mood contagion.” Recent studies show that happy feelings flit easily through social networks, so that one person’s good fortune can brighten the day even for only distantly connected others. Furthermore, psychologists today agree that positive feelings like gratitude, contentment, and self-confidence can actually lengthen our lives and improve our health…”

So why does Ehrenreich’s book have the subtitle “How Positive Thinking is Undermining America?” Ehrehreich, an author and political activist, devotes her book to explaining the origins of positive thinking and the detrimental effects that it can have on the economy. Her argument is complex and builds from 19^th century literature to modern day corporate greed. Of Ehrenreich’s arguments, the one I found most compelling was the possible negative effect of the pressure that is placed on people battling life-threatening illnesses to “remain positive.” Sometimes, it’s okay to be sad and mad. All of this said, I would argue that there are decades of research on optimism, positivity, and positive psychology that point to their very powerful affirmative effects.

However, optimism is not a one-size-fits-all affair. Positive thinking works for some, but not for all. For people who have anxiety, optimism can be very difficult and unproductive. Instead, anxious people can harness that anxiety and use it in order to ensure that they do succeed.

This approach is what Julie Norem, the author of The Positive Power of Negative Thinking, calls defensive pessimism. She explains that defensive pessimism encompasses an entire process by which negative thinking transformed anxiety into action.”

“Don’t worry, it will all work out” does not always come true. Worrying and preparing yourself for the worst can help. And that is exactly what defensive pessimists do. Before going into a stressful situation, they set low expectations for themselves and then follow up with a list of all the things that can go wrong. Once they have figured out all of the bad things that can happen, they can begin to prepare to prevent them or to prepare to deal with them when they occur. This gives those with anxiety a sense of control.

In reality, roughly thirty percent of Americans are defensive pessimists, and then tend to also be highly successful. Their beliefs that fear of negative outcomes tends to motivate them to perform better in the future.

It’s Okay to Frown

Some of the most surprisingly and uplifting responses Norem got to her book on defensive pessimism were the positive comments from people who had been practicing defensive pessimism for years. Many of these people were told, “Look on the bright side!” “Don’t worry, be happy!” And, it just did not sit right with them. And, research shows that if you pressure defensive pessimists into being optimistic or try to change their mood, you end up with very poor performances. So, for a lot of people, like Mindy perhaps, Norem’s book was vindication for years of negative thinking that produced positive results. After hearing her speak, one woman told Norem, “I’m so glad that my mother and my sisters were here with me! They’ve always worried so much about the way I am. Now I can just remind them that I’m a defensive pessimist and they don’t have to keep trying to change me.”

However, it is important to distinguish between defensive pessimism and just plain old pessimism. Defensive pessimists think negatively about the future so that they can plan and devise strategies for creating better outcomes or dealing with the future negative outcomes. They think about the half empty glass and plan out the nearest route to a sink or remember to pack an extra water bottle. Plain old pessimists simply just assume the glass is half empty and moan about it. Defensive pessimists are productive and proactive.

It’s not always necessary to buy into positive thinking. Instead, if defensive pessimism works for you, go with it! There are plenty of successful people who see the world with grey colored glasses.

That said, is positive thinking undermining America? I don’t think so! Rose colored glasses are just not for everyone.