Mental Temperature Control
Ever felt you had something in the bag only to find out you didn't? It's happened to me. A lot. Over the years I've tried out many ways to deal with it. Some have worked better than others.
So what have I learned? To be chronically pessimistic about all things I cannot control. That deal I'm excited about? Hey, it might not happen. That A in the exam? It could happen. But it might not. That job interview I nailed? Who knows...I can't read the interviewer's mind.
There is a downside to the pessimism. If all you are is pessimistic about stuff, it is easy to give up. It's easy to give in to the "I won't win anyway" mentality which can completely kill your passions in life. Pessimism is good to control expectation. It totally sucks in keeping you motivated.
Be as optimistic as you are pessimistic. Yeah, spoken like a true monk. Funnily, since I developed the pessimistic vo ice in me, I have also almost linearly had to increase the sound level of the optimist in me. The optimist is what makes me give 100% into something I care about. The pessimist is what keeps me moving onto the next idea when the current one fails.
If you've worked with me, you have almost definitely experienced the optimist. I have people all the time that like to point out flaws in my idea. In their eyes, they are balancing the optimist in me. That's before they realize that I am just as pessimistic as I am optimistic=) I have more flaws and outrageous ideas about why my project can fail than anyone. But if that is all I listened to, I would be paralyzed.
Pessimism that prevents action is bad. Pessimism that encourages further action is royally helpful...and I'm all about that!



