I know you are an optimist and it is a curious thing. Really, it is.
Kids go to a zoo and see strange animals -- pink fairy armadillos, the proboscis monkey, or a tufted deer. They are amazed, astounded, and confused.
That is what happens to me when I see an optimist. I just think: "How peculiar!" haha
I may be a disappearing breed in this Golden Age of Whinging, but it works for me.
Unreflective hopefulness and confidence may even provide an evolutionary advantage over the poor beasts crippled by studied self-immiseration. Vast conspiracies and deathly impersonal forces may be pursuing us, but even if we're doomed, I will at least have the advantage of not fretting about it for a lifetime.
“Man alone is born crying, lives complaining and dies disappointed.”
- Samuel Johnson
Why??? As everyone knows, there are two sides to everything, and you can see the glass half empty and half full. In spite of the fact that it's such a cliche metaphor, the fact of the matter is, objectively, the water is in the middle. The subjective part is how you CHOOSE to view it.
"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
www.silententry.wordpress.com
I don't think optimism really has survival advantage. Survival advantage is at the tribal or next of kin levels (it's really not strictly at the level of the DNA one passes down but that of one's close genetic relatives etc.), for which many different personalities are probably needed (pessimists would be darn good at watching for danger which might keep the tribe alive for instance. Our society would probably function better if there were more of them in charge - I mean would you rather have people who foresaw say the economic dangers of say the housing boom leading up to 2008 or not ...).
The water just is, whether it's good or bad depends on purpose, to sustain a person dying of dehydration maybe it's not enough, to wash down an aspirin maybe it is. In the middle, middle of what, those terms have no meaning and the usefulness of it can only be determined with regard to purpose. People probably have different pain and pleasure thresholds and for some the pain gets in as does the danger (but again perceiving danger has it's uses).
Trees don't grow on money
Optimism does have some survival advantages. One I can think of is that if you're around enough pessimists for enough time, you'll want to throw yourself off the nearest cliff. More optimists, more fun, less self-immolation.
Relentlessly negative people are probably routinely sacrificed by primitive societies. "Into the volcano with you, Grumpy!"
haha! I can see that.
Mayo Clinic cites the following health benefits of optimism:
Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:
- Increased life span.
- Lower rates of depression.
- Lower levels of distress.
- Greater resistance to the common cold.
- Better psychological and physical well-being.
- Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
- Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress.
I've read in several longevity studies that optimism is a predictor of a long life.
"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
www.silententry.wordpress.com
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