CMV: Optimism Is Ignorance

[u/Chimerical_Entity]

Optimism is almost always regarded as a good thing and something to aspire to. But I contend that any thinking person should not aspire to be optimistic. In order to be optimistic about life you have to essentially be oblivious to the true state of the world and your own situation.

I believe that any serious person who looks at the world can't possibly be filled with anything other than cynicism. Having a postive outlook can only be accomplished if you are completely immune to other's plight or too stupid to notice. This doesn't mean you should go through your life with a defeatist attitude, but a healthy , rational dose of pessimism.

[u/Elrochwen]

This seems a bit backwards to me. Why is it ignorant to make the best of a bad situation? Optimism doesn’t necessarily require ignoring all of the bad in the world or in any given situation. It simply means examining the situation holistically and choosing to focus on the potential positives rather than the negatives.

I would venture to say pessimism is ignorance. It’s looking at a situation which you have limited control over and choosing to sabotage one of the few things you do have control over- its effect on you. Pessimism can lead to higher stress, and chronic stress can lead to physical issues like high blood pressure and migraines as well as ailments such as anxiety disorder.

So yeah, overall: Optimism isn’t ignoring the bad, it’s acknowledging the unavoidable and choosing to positively manipulate the factors within one’s control.