Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Making Yourself Miserable to Succeed?

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the rose-colored-denial dept.

PeterAitch writes "Nature is reporting that expecting the worst - emotional cushioning - does not usually make you feel any better when you flunk or flop. The reported study indicates that you are just making yourself miserable. On the flip-side, people who are anxious are more likely to motivate themselves better to prepare for the forthcoming ordeal - defensive pessimists. Those with a generally sunny outlook on life expect to succeed and tend to deny responsibility when they perform badly."

11 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. www.despair.com by arivanov · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have always thought that this guy has a point. Now it is scientifically proven. Time to buy some of the Y2006 demotivators http://www.despair.com/. Yess... The Dreamer above my desk definitely looks like the best way towards success...

    --
    Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
    http://www.sigsegv.cx/
    1. Re:www.despair.com by Pozican · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Interesting how the favicon is the yahoo favicon...

      Subliminal message?

  2. So who was happer? by timeOday · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Those who stressed out and did well, or those who kicked back and blamed failure on others?

  3. Groundless Optimism & Realistic Optimism Diffe by SilentOneNCW · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think the lesson is not to make yourself miserable all the time so that you will face each challenge with depressive and pessimistic resolve, but to know when to be light-hearted and fluffy and when to get back to business -- Obviously, when individuals are optimists without a basis for such, then they will be less equipped to deal with situations and failure, but it they are optimists tempered with realism, logic, and fact, they will be more likely than a pessimist tempered with realism, logic, and fact to successfully move on; the important point being that their optimism has to be grounded in the real world, not denying reality but instead merely looking for the greater good in the world.

    --
    games journalism blog
  4. As usual, Heinlein said it best by dtmos · · Score: 5, Interesting
    "Pessimist by policy, optimist by temperament--it is possible to be both. How? By never taking an unnecessary chance and by minimizing risks you can't avoid. This permits you to play out the game happily, untroubled by the certainty of the outcome." -- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love.
    I think it's especially important for engineers to be pessimistic by policy; I like to think, while crossing a bridge, that the engineers involved thought through all the worst-case scenarios and didn't just assume that everything was going to work out right.
    1. Re:As usual, Heinlein said it best by RobinH · · Score: 4, Interesting

      As an engineer who works on some equipment that could really do bad things if it messed up, I can tell you that pessimistic engineers do better work. That's the defensive pessimist that the article talks about.

      However, we're miserable most of the time, and we burn out quick. That's because we blame ourselves for every single little thing that goes wrong, and we feel guilty about every mistake for the rest of our lives. It's a pretty high standard to hold yourself to.

      I imagine it's worse for Doctors, but that profession allows you to blame something else for your screw up a lot more, so maybe not.

      --
      "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
  5. Invalid study conclusions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Once again I disagree with the study conclusion after RTFA.
    Let's examine what they did:

      1. They gave people a "medium" practice session.
      2. They asked people to guess how they did on it (i.e. rate how they think the will perform on "medium" task.)
      3. They gave 1/2 of the group "easy" tests and the other half "hard" tests.
      4. They asked the individuals to rate themselves and explain the situation.

    confident failures: They concluded that those who expected to do well decided to blame the test when they did poorly on the "hard" test? No kidding?!?! They pulled a bait and switch on them and gave them something completely different than they were asked to rate themselves. They have every right to blame the test. It's like playing a pool shark.

    disappointing success: They also concluded that those who expected to do poorly didn't feel any better when they did well on the "easy" tests. No kidding ?!?! People don't feel better when you "let them win." These people also felt slighted.

    The whole testing methodology is flawed. Call me when they do a real study on the matter.

  6. Rose-tinted? by jamoncito · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The team then gave half the students problems that were slightly easier than the first set, while half were given more difficult puzzles. This ensured that the students' performances would either exceed, or fall short of, their expectations.

    ...

    These people [the optimistic group], who see the world through rose-tinted spectacles, also tend to deny responsibility for their poor performance. Marshall and Brown showed this in a second part of the study, in which students were also asked whether they felt their test performance was a reflection of their ability. The 'rose-tinted' group who did badly in the test tended to believe that it was not.

    How is this a "rose-tinted" interpretation? These people are correct to deny responsibility for poor performance, since they performed below their expectations only because they were tricked into doing a harder problem set than expected. I think the optimistic group had a pretty clear interpretation.

  7. I was told that that was a good thing. by khasim · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, not specifically told, but it was heavily implied in a "team building" exercise I went to at an old company.

    It's about your mental position. If you "know" that you're good at something, then you will BE good at that. Any problems will be because of external issues.

    If things accidentally work out, that's because you're so good.
    If things accidentally fail, that wasn't because of you.

    And by "accidentally work out" I include hiring people who pay more attention to the problem than you do.

  8. Re:Difference between optimists and pessimists: by SpacePirate20X6 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    "Pessimist" is a term invented by optimists to describe realists.

    -Isaac Asimov, Foundation.

  9. Given the choice.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Calm down for a moment and ask yourself: Given the choice, how would I rather feel right now? Would I rather feel happy, or unhappy?

    Or, how about this one: If forced to choose between justifiably pissed-off, or unjustifiably happy, which would I prefer?

    Now, with your answers firmly in mind, ask yourself this one: Do I have a choice?

    If you answer "No," then I highly recommend an independent study of human psychology, focusing on emotional management and meditation techniques.

    Don't be a slave.