Optimism is Overrated

By Kat

You always find people giving out their little snippets of wisdom to those who are feeling blue. Often you hear advice like "be positive" or "find the silver lining"!

I guess it works for some people. But to be quite honest, optimism isn't always the way to go. Of course, I'm not promoting that we all become pessimists and mope around about how we won't ever achieve anything, but all things are dangerous when they are performed to the extreme.

Overestimating and reverting back to a depressed state can be dangerous for people, as optimism can only last so long. Andrew Solomon displayed poignant insight when he said that depressed people do not feel like their view of the world has been clouded by a veil, but rather feel that the veil has been lifted and everything is suddenly clear. 

(Watch his Ted Talk here: http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_depression_the_secret_we_share?language=en)  

Perhaps optimism can make you feel better temporarily, but the end result is the same. It's one of the most extreme forms of deception- because one can only persuade themselves to be happy so long before they give up on lying to themselves. And when they do, it is often where they fall the hardest, because its the moment where we go from euphoric highs that we have persuaded ourselves to trust in, to an overwhelming and hazardous epiphany.

Failure- it's a crushing thing, especially if someone has already invested their heart and soul into optimism. When I was in primary school, I considered myself a mighty optimist. My friends would propose a question: what would happen if I failed to meet my expectations? And I would reply smugly that the nature of optimists is to feel alright about themselves even then, and continue to find the bright side. But nowadays I find myself drowning beneath waves of workload and exams that won't be resolved by simply being optimistic anymore. In other words, it isn't primary school, and life won't wait for you to console yourself by being optimistic all the time.

The world isn't built for optimistic people. It throws too much rain in the path of an individual before they can even begin to look up at the clouds and find the silver lining. The world we live in is neither a utopia or a dystopia. Despite all the injustices that we face each day through corrupt governments and inequality in all its shapes and forms, we are still lucky to be in a world where people can still smile at each other, be generous and kind, have friends who truly value you and have the capability to change.Ultimately, the mental note to take down for the future is to know your own limitations- think neither with the mind of a optimist or the mind of a pessimist, but rather think with fair judgement,  striving for the best, and being thankful for what you can can achieve.