in defense of pessimism
I've been reading a little bit on the concept of rational optimism recently. I feel like I would like to be a rational optimist.
But I'm not.
In fact, if you could hear my inner thoughts, I'm definitely not optimistic.
This got me thinking about pessimism more deeply. It gets a bad rep. Some (perhaps most) of it is warranted. But I feel like it deserves some better branding. People label it very negatively based on assumptions that are not actually related to pessimism.
You see, I think there is one crucial factor that determines whether pessimism is a terrible hindrance or something neutral — even a strength in certain ways.
Does it prevent you from taking action and doing your best?
We typically assume that pessimists don't take action because they expect negative outcomes. But actually, this has nothing to do with pessimism directly. It has everything to do with action bias.
I think pessimism with action bias can be as good as optimism with action bias — at least in specific areas.
I'm actually someone who typically expects negative outcomes for whatever reason, but it rarely stops me from trying and doing my best. For me, pessimism doesn't lead to avoidance.
I expect things to probably not work out, but at the same time, I understand that not trying at all will guarantee failure. So I might as well try my best to have a chance.
I want to be clear that this kind of pessimistic undervaluation of myself causes a lot of unnecessary suffering. This should by no means be undermined. It sucks. I wish no one had to experience it.
But.
It also relieves me of the pressure of needing positive outcomes. I still enjoy when they do happen, but because I don't expect them, they actually feel extra special.
It keeps me humble.
It pushes me to prepare well, work hard, and try my best in most of what I do. It helps me deliver higher quality in situations where less effort would probably be enough to "pass." It has led me to many extremely positive outcomes in life, albeit not without some pain on the way.
I'm not glorifying pessimism. Just trying to defend (justify?) it a little bit.
What I'm trying to say in this very long-winded way is:
It's OK to be a pessimist as long as it's not stopping you from taking action.