Dear Iqbal,

It is true that many people are too pessimistic due to unemployment/ money/ health issues/ failure in life/ family and personal problems. This is partly understandable because we live in a word wherein the false, the bad and the ugly seem to triumph over the true, the good and the beautiful,There is not doubt that we should do our best to  inverse this sad reality. For this to be the case, people should think positively, namely that they are also responsible for the present state of affairs and have a responsibility to change it into a more just and peaceful world. In other words, the more the world is just and peaceful, the less it leads to pessimismo. Suffice it to say that  in a just and peaceful world, social problems such unemployment and poverty, and psychological probelms such as pessimmism and learning helplessness are less likely to occur.

As for our contribution to diminish those social and psychological problems it is worth mentioning J F Kennedy's statement: "Do not ask what your country what it  can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country." In the same vein, do not ask others to diminish the widespread pessimism all over the world, but what you can do to chanhge this widespread pessimim into a healthier optimism.

Best regards,

Orlando

By focusing on positive points in the thinking process or when making a decision

Instead of falling into a game of pessimism, you have to maintain your energy that can be harnessed for more than one goal .... Instead of trying to think about the results, good or bad, you focus on the work that is at your hand .... Make your business valuable and let your business be Reward, not the result ..... This is the opposite direction of pessimism.

Dear Iqbal Thonse Hawaldar,

As per my view point, pessimism comes due to lack of confidence and loose faith in Allah.

'Attitude' helps to overcome pessimism'.

The are a myriad of ways to overcome pessimism. No the the foolowing:

---- Find cause to you to believe in or to to be committed to.

---- Focus on the possibilities or what you can do, not the impossibilities or what you cannot do.

---- Read inspiring stories

---- Connect to your cause and commitment,

----Get rid of negative words.

---- Connect to your spiritual power.

--- Open your mind for unexpected events.

--- Try to live in peace with yourself, the others and the universe.

Best regards,

Orlando

The are a myriad of ways to overcome pessimism. No the the foolowing:

---- Find cause to you to believe in or to to be committed to.

---- Focus on the possibilities or what you can do, not the impossibilities or what you cannot do.

---- Read inspiring stories

---- Connect to your cause and commitment,

----Get rid of negative words.

---- Connect to your spiritual power.

--- Open your mind for unexpected events.

--- Try to live in peace with yourself, the others and the universe.

Best regards,

Orlando

Dear Iqaal:

What follows is a famous quote. It refers ro key points to overcome pessimism.

"I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”

― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom.

There is also a Portuguese proverb that says that "Hope is the last thing to die". As I see it, radical pessimism leads to nihilism. Thus, we should think positively and be self-confident.

I think no single way can be applicable to all. All of us at least during some stage of life faced the problem. But we overcome the situation with self inspiration, advice of our well wishers, meditation, changing of area of thoughts by reading good books or like that.

We must remember - TIME is the best healer of most of the problems. We have to try for better time and we have to wait for it.

Thanks.

By learned optimism; Prof. Martin Seligman has published a whole book on that issue and maintains an interesting website. He started with an investigation into learned helplessness, pessimism is actually learned helplessness. Learned optimism is the way out, step by step. It is not an instant event.

Dear all,

It is true that it was psychologist Martin Seligman that coined the term learned helplessness. I don't think that we may equate pessimism to learned helplessness, although they are related. Seligman coined this concept after running several experiments in non-human animals. In these experiments animals had to face an aversive situation they could not avoid. That is, regardless of animals' behavior the aversive experience was always the case. Because of this, animals tended to remain inactive. There is accumulated evidence that shows that depression, for example, is strongly associated with the phenomenon of learned helplessness. Accordingly, there is much to gained if learned helplessness were replaced by learned optimism. However, a strong sense of optimism can have detrimental effects on one's behavior, such as is shown in the end of the paper sent to us by our colleague Stephen. A strong sense of optimism may lead the individual to think that s/he is capable of doing almost anything, and even commit immoral acts. This is the reason why I am, say, a mitigated optimist. A strong sense of optimism may led us to also think that, regradless of what we do, everyting is going to be OK.

Pessimism is overcome with optimism

Pessimistic people surround themselves with a pessimistic context and everything goes wrong or worse.

Optimistic people surround themselves with an optimistic context and everything goes well or better

If pessimism is the result of a disorder of affect such as depression, it is convenient to receive psychological therapy to improve self-esteem and self-image; or if it is the case, receive antidepressant pharmacological treatment.

Be aware of Duality ... within your thinking , like mountens has a sunny ☀️ side and a shadow side

Have a positive mind set. Just tell yourself that " my cup is always half full" and not "half empty". Think positively and move with people with positive mind set.

Thank you

Olutosin

By positive thinking

I agree with my colleague Dr. José Luis García Vigil

Best Regards

Dr. Malik

http://www.myholistic-health.com/rainy-brain-sunny-brain-how-to-retrain-your-brain-to-overcome-pessimism-and-achieve-a-more-positive-english.pdf

Dear Iqbal! You have posed a very philosophical question and I was quite surprised to seeing these dualistic answers to simply opposing pessimism with 'optimism'. What a misunderstanding!

No, you can't 'overcome' pessimism. Pessimism is a necessary and realistic attitude on almost all issues including love, business and - of course - health and death.

Pessimism is an intelligent way to dealing with the unexpected.

Pessimism is a useful method to avoiding deception.

Pessimism is a source of creativity. Most of the really creative people are chronic pessimists.

But the major root of pessimism in our soul, character and brain is it's paradox kind: the less I've got to expect, the more I may achieve.

In the Chinese Philosophy of Taoism pessimism had the form of 'Wu-Wei', which can be translated with 'not-doing' or 'don't do'.

The best possible outcome of pessimism is to doing nothing at all, which in many cases is the best way to act.

I could provide endless samples such as backache or lovesickness that have been gone even before you saw a doctor or therapist. And, while being an entrepreneur for thirty years now, pessimism will be your therapy to facing the up- and downturns of your ventures. By counter optimism in general is a product of fear and poor knowledge. So maybe you'd be better learning about the use and nature of pessimism by convinced pessimists than by optimists?

So let's finish this lecture with a motto:

"There are so many things to do - you just have to leave them."

Yours sincerely Alexander

http://alexanderdill.com/?page_id=304