What Is This About?

CRUSHPESSIMISM.COM IS ABOUT optimism in the scientific sense of the word, which doesn't have anything to do with looking on the bright side or trying to make yourself believe "everything happens for a reason." Something very specific happens in the mind of someone who feels demoralized or disheartened or discouraged by a setback. And that something can be changed. This blog is about understanding exactly what that something is, and exactly how it can be changed. And what will that do for you? I will illustrate with an experiment.

A few years ago one of the best swim teams in the world was doing their normal workout, but they didn't know they were going to be given an unusual test that day. They were swimming "timed heats," which means they would swim up to one end of the pool and then swim back and then the coach would tell them how fast they swam it. Then they'd swim up and back again, and the coach would again tell them how fast they went that time.

They had done this many times before. These were all very accomplished swimmers. World class. They knew exactly how it felt and how fast they were swimming. So when the coach gave them a slower time than they expected (which was part of the experiment), to the swimmer, it was a kind of setback. A kind of failure.

The interesting thing is what happened in the next timed heat. When the optimists got their slow time, they responded by swimming their next heat faster. They tried harder.

The pessimists, on the other hand, responded to this setback by swimming the next heat slower. The setback had taken the wind out of their sails. Because of the way they think, because of their pessimistic habits of mind, the setback produced in them a small demoralization, a subtle feeling of defeat. They became a little disheartened by the setback, so they swam slower.

Some time prior to this part of the experiment, they had all taken a questionnaire so the researchers would know how optimistic or pessimistic their normal thinking patterns were.

The swimmers experienced a minor setback, and because of what they did with it in their minds, they either tried harder or gave up a little.

What does this have to do with you? First of all, you have setbacks every day (a setback is anything you didn't want to happen). It's a very rare day that everything goes exactly as you want it. So you have all these little (and sometimes big) setbacks, and you respond to them with your usual style of thinking. The setback causes you to interpret the setback in some particular way, and that interpretation results in you either becoming more determined, or by giving up and feeling defeated, even if only a little.

These responses accumulate over time. Imagine how different a person's life would look if you were able to follow two different possible trajectories of one life. Over a period of, say, ten years, the optimist's trajectory would lead to accomplishments and new skills, and hard-won victories. The pessimist's trajectory would lead to giving up after setbacks, to frustration and unfulfilled potential. The pessimist's life would have shrunk down to nothing as he gave up on one goal after another as he threw in the towel a little at a time, again and again.

You're probably not on one extreme or the other. Most people are somewhere in the broad middle area. Most of us are pessimistic at some times and in some areas, and more optimistic in others. But those pessimistic areas can be changed, and it will create a dramatic effect on not only how you feel, but on how you do over time. And oddly enough, it has a big effect on your health, which you can read about here: The Impact Of Pessimism On Your Health.

On an optimism-pessimism scale, I would guess you're more on the optimistic side. You obviously don't feel completely helpless or feel your situation is hopeless or you wouldn't be reading this. But you also must have a suspicion that could do something to become more persistent, to demonstrate more determination, and to win more victories. And you're right.

This body of work is about real, hard-nosed, reality-based optimism. It's about gaining the kind of optimism that gets things done, improves health, and makes you feel good more often.

I will be giving you the tools to help yourself and your loved-ones become more optimistic, and to help you root out the last remnants of pessimism lurking in your mind and crush it.

We're also going to talk about how pessimism constantly tries to worm its way into your mind, and how you can protect yourself.

That's what this material is for. I hope you stay with me. I am on a mission. I want to crush pessimism around the world, one person at a time, starting with you.

If you're ready to start, I think the best first thing to read here is The Purpose of Crushpessimism.com.