Being Pessimistic, What Disadvantages?

Was the British writer Arnold Bennet right when he said that “pessimism, once you get used to it, is as pleasant as optimism”? Can being pessimistic really be good?

Pessimism is nothing more than an attitude towards life and can be justified or unfounded. It is a way of thinking that affixes a sort of filter to the perception of reality and the predictions that we usually make. That is to say that everything that happens or that could happen around us is interpreted in a negative way. Being pessimistic means living in the worst world, being surrounded by the worst people and having means that instead of facilitating adaptation hinder it.

Why isn’t it worth being pessimistic? 

In spite of what (erroneously) people think, a pessimist is not necessarily a sad person. That is, not all pessimists exhibit depressive symptoms or other forms of emotional distress.

Clearly, it is easier for a pessimistic person to feel sad, but the two do not necessarily go hand in hand. However, one thing is certain: sooner or later the pain surfaces. The constant feeling of being in an environment unfavorable to us can result in a sense of despondency or even in learned helplessness, as according to pessimistic logic it is not worth fighting to feel better or strive to make progress and improve one’s condition.

While being pessimistic is never helpful, there are several manifestations of this attitude. It is a “mindset” that often arises from very specific situations (often injustices) even if they are not on the agenda.   Let’s see how a pessimist’s mind works.

Seeking the truth … always negative

A virtue of pessimistic people is certainly the fact that they prefer a harsh truth to a comfortable lie. The saying “eye that does not see, heart that does not hurt” is not for them, they rather prefer “eye that does not see, foot that stumbles”.

However, as good as they may be at accepting even the most uncomfortable truths, it must also be said that pessimistic people are hardly objective. They simply expect the worst, they believe that it is all negative or false, never positive. That is to say that they consider anything negative or at best normal, but never positive.

Negativity is always at the center of their world

As the word itself suggests, being pessimistic means always focusing on the negative side of things, making them seem even worse than they really are. When everything goes as planned, pessimistic people don’t seem to care. Therefore, they tend to classify any unexpected events that catch their attention as negative.

Pessimistic people rarely dwell on the good in their life. They are too used to putting negativity in the spotlight. On the one hand, this ability can prove to be positive because, for example, they are predisposed to social denunciation, but in the long run, always thinking negative becomes exhausting.

Low expectations

They strongly believe in the saying “To think badly of others makes you sin, but often you guess”. Pessimistic people tend to protect themselves from frustration by never expecting anything from life and people. In doing so, they assume that nothing can improve unless they put in a huge effort, but even then, things don’t necessarily get better.

In a way, this attitude protects pessimistic people from disappointment. A pessimist rarely has high expectations, so life can only surprise him positively. However, it is not necessary to be pessimistic to use this strategy, in fact we have all used it at least once in an attempt to protect ourselves.

Mourning ahead of time

Pessimistic people are always in mourning. In addition to the real losses that life holds, they often find themselves grieving ahead of time. That is to say that they face imaginary mourning and, often, the disastrous scenarios they have imagined are not reflected in reality.

Pessimism can be hidden or unconscious

Pessimism is not well regarded in our society (especially now that positive psychology seems to be so fashionable), so people who have this tendency try to hide it. On the other hand, however, it is often such an innate tendency that this “filter” is applied without realizing it, almost automatically.

Pessimism, whether temporary or permanent, is a fairly common attitude. Positive or negative attitude? This is at the discretion of each of us. In this regard, science tells us that a right dose of optimism can be useful, especially when we have to face a problem, even if only because it aligns the phenomenon of self-fulfilling prophecy in our favor.