What's in the glass?

Many of us have been asked the question, "Do you see the glass as half empty or half full?" The question is supposed to tell the asker how you view the world, as a pessimist or an optimist, as if one is better than the other. A naturally optimistic person, I see both perspectives as necessary, especially in the work that Deaconess Children's Services does. A healthy dose of optimism goes a long way. However, according Austrian researchers, "people in negative frames of mind are more alert to — and therefore more healthily suspicious of — their surroundings, compared to those in more positive frames of mind. A dose of pessimism seems to aid critical thinking." (September 2010; odemagazine.com)

The article, "In Defense of Pessimism," goes on to quote Julie Norem, a psychology professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, who believes pessimism can be a performance-enhancing state of mind. Norem cites the example of a public speaker who is always nervous before a performance. "Convinced that the next talk will be a disaster, the prospective speaker imagines tripping over the microphone cord, crashing the PowerPoint presentation, or forgetting large portions of her speech. Because she’s so worried, she puts extra time into preparation, with the result that every speech is a resounding success."

However, according to the article (here's the balance part), "pessimists still need a dose of optimism to see possible alternatives and develop strategies to pursue them." Optimism is healthy too. It can protect against depression and anxiety disorders and promote emotional resilience. Optimists generally have better physical health than pessimists as well. Optimism even helps us cope more effectively with stress, affecting the immune system in largely beneficial ways. Optimists generally have wide social networks, which can also confer additional health benefits.

It's important to remember that both optimists and pessimists are necessary in our world and in our work. If everyone always only viewed the glass as half full, we would be likely to make some drastic errors or have a skewed perspective. Pessimists force us to look at both the upside and the downside of every decision. In other words, we need people to see the glass as half empty.

Better yet, perhaps we need people to ask a different question altogether, "What's in the glass?"