Author of Emotional Intelligence Perfectly Explains Optimism vs Pessimism
There is a stark difference in mindset of an optimist vs. the mindset of a pessimist that creates a major competitive advantage for optimist.
Most people boil down optimism to thinking positive and pessimism to thinking negative. While this explanation does have some truth, it doesn’t provide a true picture of the competitive advantage for optimist.
Optimist don’t always think positive, and pessimist don’t always think negative. However, what optimist do differently than pessimist is focus their thoughts on things they control. Conversely, pessimist focus their thoughts on things they don’t control. Ultimately, this is what creates the competitive advantage for optimist.
In Daniel Goleman’s groundbreaking book on emotional intelligence titled Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Goleman perfectly explains this concept:
People who are optimistic see a failure as due to something that can be changed so that they can succeed next time around, while pessimists take the blame for failure, ascribing it to some lasting characteristic they are helpless to change.
These differing explanations have profound implications for how people respond to life.
For example, in reaction to a disappointment such as being turned down for a job, optimists tend to respond actively and hopefully, by formulating a plan of action…or seeking out help and advice; they see the setback as something that can be remedied.
Pessimist, by contrast, react to such setbacks by assuming there is nothing they can do to make things better the next time, and so do nothing about the problem; they see the setback as due to some personal deficit that will always plague them.