--- title: Optimists vs. Pessimists: Who’s Right? description: Sometimes, it pays to see the glass half-empty canonical: https://time.com/3404791/optimists-vs-pessimists/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-20T04:01:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T07:55:09.025Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Optimists vs. Pessimists: Who’s Right? og:description: Sometimes, it pays to see the glass half-empty og:url: https://time.com/3404791/optimists-vs-pessimists/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43d7d249d45c22cc/6986a47055a85925c0a82af7/175274234.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: 175274234 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Optimists vs. Pessimists: Who’s Right? twitter:description: Sometimes, it pays to see the glass half-empty twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43d7d249d45c22cc/6986a47055a85925c0a82af7/175274234.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Optimists vs. Pessimists: Who’s Right? > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 20, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Glass of water isolated on white Glass of water isolated on whitePgiam—Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 20, 2014 4:01 AM UTC I listed optimism as one of the [ten things you should do every day to improve your life](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/). Yet pessimism does have advantages and plenty of people see it as a better way to view the world. **_What does the research say about the best outlook to take?_** **Glass as half full** **Optimism is associated with** [**better**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/05/does-optimism-improve-your-health/)[**health**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/07/is-optimism-associated-with-better-health/) **and** [**a**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/03/do-happy-people-live-longer/)[**longer**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/05/can-perfectionism-kill-you/)[**life**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/06/which-personality-types-live-to-be-100/)**.** Being positive can actually cause better health because it changes how people behave. Via [The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307473511/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307473511&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **Optimism can make you** [**happier**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/06/can-your-iphone-increase-your-happiness/)**.** (And before someone screams “_correlation/causation!_” [research has shown](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/04/what-are-two-easy-things-you-can-do-to-be-hap/) that practicing optimism and gratitude does cause increases in happiness.) **The army teaches soldiers to be optimistic because** [**it makes them tougher and more resourceful**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-3-techniques-does-the-army-use-to-instil)**.** Just believing you _can_ [become smarter](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-an-easy-way-to-become-smarter) and _can_ become a [better negotiator](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/a-quick-and-easy-way-to-improve-your-negotiat) have both been shown to increase improvement. **Being socially optimistic — expecting people to like you —** [**makes people like you more**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/a-quick-easy-trick-for-getting-people-to-like)**.** Expecting a positive outcome from negotiations made groups [more likely to come to a deal and to be happy with it](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/should-you-be-optimistic-going-into-negotiati). Optimistic salespeople are more successful. Via [The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307591549/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- And optimism researcher [Tali Sharot](http://www.ted.com/talks/tali%5Fsharot%5Fthe%5Foptimism%5Fbias.html) explains that, no, **being pessimistic doesn’t soften the blow of bad news**. Via [The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307473511/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307473511&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **So why would anyone choose to be pessimistic?** **Optimism can** [**blind us**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-optimism-blind-us)**. Pessimism can correct your brain’s natural positive bias.** Those who are the most optimistic about their own willpower are actually the most likely to give in to temptation. Via [The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583334386/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- The reason you can predict your friends’ behavior better than they can is because we are all [realistic about others’ actions and a little too optimistic](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-are-others-better-at-predicting-your-beha) about our own.[Extremely happy people](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-too-much-happiness-a-bad-thing) and [very trusting people](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-much-should-we-trust-others-what-are-the) don’t fare as well as those who are more moderate. In some situations, negative thinking offers a clear advantage. **If diagnosing problems is key to success, you don’t want to be looking on the bright side.** Pessimistic entrepreneurs are [more likely to succeed](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2009/07/optimism-too-much-of-a-good-thing-for-entrepr/). Optimistic gamblers [lose more money](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/11/can-positive-thinking-be-a-very-bad-thing/). The best lawyers are [pessimists](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/05/can-pessimism-be-a-good-thing/). Martin Seligman, psychology professor at UPenn and author of [Authentic Happiness](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743222989/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20), explains: --- > “” --- A negative attitude, not a positive attitude, makes you [more likely to learn from your mistakes](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-a-positive-attitude-make-you-more-motiva). In fact, the shift to **focusing on negative feedback is** [**one of the marks of an expert mindset**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-marks-the-transition-from-novice-to-expe)**.** There’s even evidence that **shallow efforts at optimism can make people feel worse**. Via [The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0865479410/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0865479410&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **So what’s the best outlook?** Does this seem like there’s no way to win? Totally contradictory? **Improvement requires a focus on the negative and an awareness of all the things that can go wrong. On the other hand, perfect execution requires irrational levels of self-confidence.** So when the pressure is on, yes, top performers need to engage in a type of [_doublethink_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublethink) to be at their best. Via [Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NSVE5U/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- For most of us, though, those situations are rare. **What should you take away from all this?** 1. **The majority of the time, think positive. Happiness and health trump pretty much everything else.** 2. **There are situations where negativity can help, like when we’re making high-stakes plans or trying to improve skills.** You don’t have to see everything through rose-colored glasses (in fact, [that’s bad](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-too-much-happiness-a-bad-thing)) but avoid taking a pessimistic attitude where negative events are seen as _pervasive, permanent and uncontrollable_. Try to see them more as [local, temporary and changeable](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/12/why-are-lawyers-so-unhappy-and-how-can-we-use/). **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)**_._** **Join over 100,000 readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3404791/optimists-vs-pessimists/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3404791/optimists-vs-pessimists/"},"headline":"Optimists vs. Pessimists: Who’s Right?","datePublished":"2014-09-20T04:01:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:55:09.025Z","description":"Sometimes, it pays to see the glass half-empty","url":"https://time.com/3404791/optimists-vs-pessimists/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43d7d249d45c22cc/6986a47055a85925c0a82af7/175274234.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43d7d249d45c22cc/6986a47055a85925c0a82af7/175274234.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"175274234","caption":"175274234","creditText":"Pgiam—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3404791/optimists-vs-pessimists/","name":"Optimists vs. Pessimists: Who’s Right?"}}]}] ```