Optimistic, Realistic, and Pessimistic
I remember a time I was trying to convince another person that my idea really could work, but the other person pointed out some key weaknesses in my idea. I tried to defend myself by saying, "I'm just trying to be optimistic," to which the other person quickly said, "And I'm trying to be realistic."
No doubt you have heard these words used often, perhaps even in the past 24 hours. It's helpful to stop and consider what they mean, as well as their implications for our lives. The optimist tends to look at the good sides of things, thinking of possibilities. The pessimist tends to look at the bad sides of things, thinking of excuses. The realist strives to be objective, seeing both the good and the bad of an idea.
Each of these types of people has its strengths and weaknesses. The optimist contributes passion and creativity, sometimes at the cost of prudence. The realist contributes reason and balance, although may never take action on the ideas they support. The pessimist contributes caution and critical thinking, although they may potentially stifle growth of an organization.
I have two suggestions for all people regarding these categories. First, it's helpful to work on a team that has a balance of these types of voices. Rarely does an idea start out as a perfect one; it needs to be edited multiple times. When a team lacks this balance, chances are slim that their work will appeal to the organization they serve. However, with a diverse group of voices, it's helpful to establish guidelines up front for how an idea will be processed, lest the optimist thinks that the pessimist hates him or the pessimist thinks the optimist is crazy for all his weird ideas.
My second suggestion is that each individual person try to have a balance of these three characteristics. There are times that we should all be optimistic. It's important to have times of dreaming about what could happen. After a period of dreaming, it's important to switch to the pessimistic mode to consider what obstacles may interfere with these dreams. Finally, after identifying these obstacles, it's time to switch to the realistic mode where you compensate for the weaknesses and make the dreams a reality. In the words of a realist, "It's okay to build castles in the sky, as long as you put foundations under them to hold them up."
No doubt you have heard these words used often, perhaps even in the past 24 hours. It's helpful to stop and consider what they mean, as well as their implications for our lives. The optimist tends to look at the good sides of things, thinking of possibilities. The pessimist tends to look at the bad sides of things, thinking of excuses. The realist strives to be objective, seeing both the good and the bad of an idea.
Each of these types of people has its strengths and weaknesses. The optimist contributes passion and creativity, sometimes at the cost of prudence. The realist contributes reason and balance, although may never take action on the ideas they support. The pessimist contributes caution and critical thinking, although they may potentially stifle growth of an organization.
I have two suggestions for all people regarding these categories. First, it's helpful to work on a team that has a balance of these types of voices. Rarely does an idea start out as a perfect one; it needs to be edited multiple times. When a team lacks this balance, chances are slim that their work will appeal to the organization they serve. However, with a diverse group of voices, it's helpful to establish guidelines up front for how an idea will be processed, lest the optimist thinks that the pessimist hates him or the pessimist thinks the optimist is crazy for all his weird ideas.
My second suggestion is that each individual person try to have a balance of these three characteristics. There are times that we should all be optimistic. It's important to have times of dreaming about what could happen. After a period of dreaming, it's important to switch to the pessimistic mode to consider what obstacles may interfere with these dreams. Finally, after identifying these obstacles, it's time to switch to the realistic mode where you compensate for the weaknesses and make the dreams a reality. In the words of a realist, "It's okay to build castles in the sky, as long as you put foundations under them to hold them up."
posted by Ben and Christina at
9:13 AM
1 Comments:
Ben,
Great observations. I am by nature an optimist seeing the potential of every idea and I need the realist in my life to bring balance. Visionaries tend to be optimistic and need the realist or detail person to help them realize their vision.
Looking Up,
Keith Tusing
www.cmbuzz.com
By
uthdude, At
8:48 AM
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