The commune of Higuera de la Serna, Spain, went bankrupt and its inhabitants, instead of complaining, got to work to recover the jobs that the municipality had previously hired and that it could no longer assume. to help take on jobs from cleaning to masonry. This case is further proof that, in difficult times, the union can arouse optimism tormented by circumstances.
Neuroscientist Tali Sharot, from University College London in the UK, says in an interview with Eduardo Punset that just as we experience optical illusions, we sometimes believe that we see something very different from reality because we succumb to other kinds of illusions, such as those described below:
- The illusion of superiority.
- In which we tend to think that we are superior to others.
- Especially in academia.
- Where more than 97% of people think they are superior.
- Which is impossible.
- So it is an illusion.
The illusion of introspection refers to our belief that our motives are well founded, that every time we do something, we do it for some reason, when there are actually times when there is no reason, we are just creating a reason to try. explain why we’re doing something.
Optimistic bias refers to overestimating our opportunities for positive experiences and underestimating our opportunities for negative experiences, so we overestimate our longevity or professional success and underestimate the chances of our partner breaking up with us or getting sick.
Optimistic bias has many advantages and disadvantages, among the former we can distinguish the following:
Health,Being optimistic promotes our health. There are two fundamental reasons for this: if we expect the future to bring us good things, stress and anxiety are reduced; for example, an optimistic patient tends to do things that make him healthier: he follows the doctor’s advice, takes more care of himself, and generally his commitment to treatment is greater.
Reach your goals. Optimism can lead a person to perform better in school and achieve their goals, because if after a bad result you think everything will be fine, it will scare the discouragement. Optimism studies have shown that people who have imposed this bias on the way they see actually work longer hours, are more persistent and end up making more money.
Thus, optimism is especially positive when accompanied by a good control locus and good self-efficacy, when it is subtle and not exaggerated, and when it is put into play in situations where there is room for action.
Optimism, while having very important advantages, can also have a negative side of drawbacks, such as those listed below:
If we think everything is okay, we may not take the necessary precautions: we don’t do medical exams as often as we’d like, we don’t put our helmet on the bike or seat belt in the car, or we don’t look sideways before. Cross the street because we think nothing will happen. In other words, it is common to find a sense of distorted and non-adaptive invulnerability in optimistic people.
An optimistic person thinks he or she will complete the activities he or she has to do before, whether it’s homework or work, underestimates the time and effort that will be required.
Optimism is particularly negative when opposed to action, as it can lead to inhibition of preventive measures, as it generally believes more in chance than in itself.
Studies on optimism and pessimism were conducted in students who were evaluated; the optimists who were unsuccessful were not disappointed because they thought they would do better next time, and the pessimists felt worse because they thought that proved they couldn’t take the test.
On the other hand, optimistic students who passed the test thought they had done a great job and would do just as well in the next test, while the pessimists who passed the test thought it was a matter of luck and felt worse.
Therefore, an optimist is not disappointed that he has not achieved his goal, but is encouraged to go on and do better. The biggest difference between an optimist and a pessimist is that the former always knows how to take advantage of what, for the other, is a problem.