4 misconceptions about optimism (and the harsh reality)

Being overly optimistic can be a double-edged sword.

No one can doubt that optimism, in some situations, can be a key to achieving success in some aspect of our lives. However, we live in times we live in times in which the obsession with happiness makes many people think that optimism is everything..

Being optimistic has its advantages, but as long as it is in tune with the environment and the reality in which we move. As everything in this life, both excess and lack of optimism are negative.

How is an optimistic person

Each person has their own peculiarities and, obviously, being pessimistic is not good at all. In fact, people who are sensible and objective and, in addition, are optimistic, can be considered advantaged.

Optimists are people who look at the positive side of things instead of spending the whole day lamenting, who do not care how many times they fall, because they learn positively from each experience. However, the optimist is not a person who always has a smile on his face despite adversity, but one with high self-confidence and is realistic with the environment that surrounds him.

But what are optimistic people like? what are optimistic people like? This type of individual presents a series of characteristics:

• They see failures as opportunities for growth and learning. Falling down means getting up.

• They are not self-deceived, but have a great capacity for self-reflection and are honest with themselves.

• They are objective and realistic people, so they always try to be sensible and coherent in their actions.

• They have a good self-esteem and value themselves positively.

• They do not compare themselves with others, because they have found inner peace.

• They have a great capacity for self-motivation despite the obstacles that come their way.

• They fight for what they want and for their own dreams.

• They live in the here and now and enjoy the present.

• They are emotionally intelligent.

• If you want to know more about these characteristics, you can read our article: "11 characteristics of optimistic people".

False beliefs about optimism

While being optimistic is beneficial, some people may hold false beliefs about this positive mindset.

1. Being optimistic will make you happy

Happiness depends on many factors, and thinking that just by adopting a positive mindset and being optimistic everything will go smoothly is a mistake.. Optimism is not something that is self-imposed, but it is a way of thinking and behaving that has a lot to do with the level of self-confidence that a person has and how this relates to the events that occur around them.

Optimism is not looking the other way when negative things happen, it is facing reality as it is and accepting it. Once accepted, it is to get moving and work step by step to achieve what one desires.

2. Optimism is an attitude

Optimism is not something that an individual can impose on himself, and as I said, it has to do with building a strong personality and being a realistic and self-confident person. It is not about seeing life as rosy and living oblivious to problems. It is about analyzing and accepting them. It is about observing and detaching emotionally from some unpleasant situations.

It's about looking to the future, but always with our feet on the ground.. Optimism is not living in irrational expectations. It is seeing things as they are and learning from them. Optimistic people also fail, but they understand that failures are part of life.

3. Problems are solved with optimism

Optimism alone does not solve problems. It can motivate us to move forward, but we also have to do our part so that everything goes as we want it to.. Therefore, self-confidence is key in this sense, because it is a psychological variable that refers to the perception of the skills and resources we have when carrying out a task. Believing in oneself does solve problems, not optimism alone.

4. You can be optimistic all the time

To think that you can be optimistic all the time and live with a smile on your face all the time is unrealistic, and in this case we would be talking about false optimism. As the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow said, "False optimism, sooner or later, disillusions, angers and despairs".

False optimism has to do with low self-esteem and an attempt to hide one's insecurity.. In fact, false optimists do not achieve the goals they set for themselves because they are not realistic. In the long run, as Maslow explains, false optimism ends up frustrating the person.

In short, people with false optimism:

• Do not value themselves

• Are not self-motivated

• They do not live in the here and now or connect with themselves.

• Are not honest with themselves

• They are not realistic

• False optimism is just as bad as pessimism. If you want to know more about this, you can read our article, "False optimism: what is it and what are its negative effects?"