The schizophrenia of optimism

As a psychiatrist, I tend to promote and defend optimism. I just reviewed in my last book (in French Les 4 temps de la Renaissance) all the positive effects of optimism. Positive anticipation reduces the risk of heart diseases and of many other diseases. Comparisons between optimists and pessimists are all in favor of optimism. Optimists earn more money, have more friends and a best social network. They accept more easily than pessimists to stop an activity unuseful or to leave a conflict. For all these reasons, optimism is a dimension of personality and behavior important to protect and develop.

As professor of medicine in a parisian university hospital, I do not tend to promote an excessive optimism. The situation in my hospital and in the university does not incitate to optimism. An excess of optimism could lead to dangerous behaviors (non use of the protective masks, non adaptation of the hospital to the crisis). When exposed to such a pandemia, keeping a level of pessimism is a matter of life and death. The more you are optimist, the more you are in danger. For companies, the situation is the same than for hospitals. An excess of optimism could be a mortal danger. If you opt for choices too optimist you may lead your organisation to bankruprtcy.

This situation represents what I call for you the schizophrenia of optimism. Optimism is good for health of individuals, company and economy and in the same time, optimism exposes to increased level of danger. A few months ago, the situation was clear for me. I worked as a teacher of optimism. Now, I need to transmit more complex messages and recommandations. Does that mean that optimism has become a dimension of personality that you must block or reduce ?

The answer is no. More than ever, you have to defend, in the same time, caution, realism and optimism. More than ever, it appears to me important to train with simple experiments and practices the optimist aspects of your personality and of your behavior. That is why I give in my books lessons of realistic but true optimism. I will be delighted to present you in a next post esay to apply examples.