Quiz 2
How Optimistic Am I?
It seems like optimists have all the fun. Although life cycles through ups and downs for both optimists and pessimists, an impressive body of research shows that optimists react to events in ways that promote their emotional and physical well-being. Their “look on the bright side” dispositions help them manage stress, cope creatively with challenges, maintain supportive relationships, and recover more quickly from setbacks. As if that’s not enough, optimists tend to stay healthier and live longer than their pessimistic counterparts. (Sorry, I know this bit of knowledge might make any pessimists out there even gloomier than you were before.)
But psychologists now say it’s possible to be too optimistic. Like most extreme attitudes, extreme optimism can create problems of its own. Being wildly optimistic, for example, can translate into being wildly impractical and imprudent.
Optimism and pessimism are two ends of a continuum. Researchers note that about 80 percent of the U.S. population is distributed from mildly to unremittingly optimistic. Take the following quiz to find out just how optimistic you are, and what that might mean for the way your future unfolds.
Take the Test
Pick the letter that applies to you:
1. You and several colleagues are competing for a promotion at work, and someone else lands it. You …
a. Tell yourself you will never get ahead.
b. Think back on all the times you’ve lost out on an opportunity.
c. Promise yourself you’ll work harder to get the next promotion that comes along.
d. Quit immediately, confident you will find a better job where your obvious talents will be appreciated.
2. At the last minute, you ask someone you really like out on a Saturday-night date. She says she’s sorry but she’s already made plans. You …
a. Mope all night while listening to blues music on your iPod.
b. Assume you will end up old and alone.
c. Decide to ask the same person again on Monday if she wants to go out the following Saturday night.
d. Decide to ask the same person out again next Saturday for that night, hoping she won’t be busy then.
3. You lead a campaign to win a new client’s business, but the client signs with a competing firm. You …
a. Rush off to the restroom and make the “L” hand sign for “loser” on your forehead as you stare into the mirror.
b. Assume you’re going to get demoted or fired.
c. Tell yourself it’s the client’s loss.
d. Tell the client it’s his loss and assure him he’ll be back begging to work with you.
4. You sign up to take a challenging course and fail the first test. You …
a. Drop the course because it is obviously over your head.
b. Tell yourself you’re a hopeless dunce.
c. Promise yourself to study harder for the next test.
d. Assume you’ll do better next time, but don’t set aside time to do any additional studying.
5. You come home to find a notice in your mailbox saying there is a certified letter for you at the post office. You …
a. Stay awake all night wondering what bad news the letter brings.
b. Assume someone is suing you, and you call your friends asking for the name of a good lawyer.
c. Make a mental note to pick it up tomorrow, and then you get on with your usual activities.
d. Tell yourself it’s probably some sort of nonsense and decide not to pick up the letter.
6. You just got a really bad haircut. You …
a. Tell yourself you’re going to look awful for a long time.
b. Cancel as many social plans as possible.
c. Wear a hat and a smile.
d. Dye your hair green, assuming this will detract attention from your haircut.
7. You interview for a very competitive job, and you are hired from a large pool of qualified applicants. You …
a. Feel like you just got lucky for some inexplicable reason.
b. Worry that you’ll soon fail and be discovered as a fraud.
c. Pat yourself on the back for your solid qualifications and interview skills.
d. Turn the job down, because if you can land this great a job, you can land an even better one.
8. You win $10,000 in the state lottery! You …
a. Refuse to spend any of it until you verify numerous times that it is not a mistake.
b. Refuse to spend any of it because you assume now something bad—and very costly—will occur.
c. Save some, spend some, and buy another lottery ticket next month.
d. Head to Las Vegas where you hope to double your money.
9. At a party, someone attractive smiles at you from across the room. You …
a. Look behind you to see who it is he’s really smiling at.
b. Tell yourself he must be smiling at you out of pity because you feel so uncomfortable and look so out of place.
c. Smile back and casually move in his direction.
d. Gather your friends around and brag that the attractive person over there is gaga over you.
10. You’re selected from a live television program to get a free makeover. You …
a. Tell yourself it’s because you’re so unattractive.
b. Decline because you assume the makeover will be a failure.
c. Accept because you think it will be fun and you might get some good tips.
d. Assume this is the day you will be discovered by a major talent scout.
11. After anxiously awaiting the results of a serious medical test, you learn that the test is negative. You are fine. You …
a. Tell yourself you’ve dodged a bullet—for now.
b. Worry that the test results are mistaken.
c. Celebrate.
d. Vow never to get a medical checkup again because doctors just scare you over nothing.
12. You embark on a weight-loss diet. After a month of exercising and watching what you eat, you lose the 10 pounds you wanted to shed. You …
a. Think about how hard the past month was and how deprived you felt.
b. Tell yourself you’ll never keep the weight off.
c. Pat yourself on the back and vow to maintain your new weight.
d. Go back to your old habits, assuming you’ve permanently changed your metabolism.
13. When you think back on your life so far, you …
a. Think mostly about failures and disappointments.
b. Think mostly about missed opportunities and roads not taken.
c. Think mostly about positive events and relationships.
d. Not applicable! You refuse to think about the past—life is all about moving forward.
14. After adverse events in your life, you …
a. Take a long time to feel like yourself again.
b. Withdraw from friends and social activities.
c. Take some time to regroup, then come back stronger.
d. Take an immediate “get back on the horse” approach.
15. Which statement do you most agree with?
a. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
b. If it were raining soup, I’d only have a fork.
c. Things usually turn out for the best.
d. Life is just a bowl of cherries—minus the pits!
Scoring and Explanation
Assign yourself 1 point for every “A” or “B” response, 2 points for every “C” response, and 3 points for every “D” response. Tally your points:
• A score of 15-24 indicates that you are a pessimist. When something goes wrong, you tend to assume that everything will always go wrong. You have difficulty keeping your negative reactions from spreading. You also tend to feel relatively powerless to impact the course of events. The bad news is that your habitual sense of helplessness might itself be the cause of some of your difficulties. Attitudes fuel your actions, and actions contribute to outcomes. If you don’t believe you can accomplish something, chances are you won’t be able to. But the good news—if you can stand to hear some good news—is that pessimism is a cognitive habit that can be broken.
Developing self-awareness about your habitual reactions to events is a first step on the road to change. The second is overhauling your explanatory style. Notice when you leap to the conclusion that a temporary problem will last forever, or that a difficulty in one area of your life will spread to other areas. Remind yourself that such conclusions are unproven and most likely illogical. With time and practice you can learn to stop catastrophizing.
• A score of 25-34 indicates that you are an optimist. When things are going poorly, you assume they will change for the better sooner or later. You remain alert to positive elements in negative situations, and you accept challenges and limitations while holding on to hope. When your life is going well, you’re not afraid to enjoy it.
Best of all, your score indicates you are a realistic optimist. You are capable of performing reality checks, know how to exercise forethought, and have good old common sense. You don’t just hope for the best; you contribute to making positive things happen.
• A score of 35-45 indicates that you could be an unrealistic optimist. Your high score indicates that your optimism contains at least some elements of carelessness. At times, you can be so relentlessly upbeat that you deny reality. When this occurs, you could be in jeopardy of leaving too much to chance and failing to put into motion the very plans that could make your dreams come true.
All optimists are a bit biased in a self-serving way, and to a certain extent, this tends to work out well. But you underestimate risk to such a large degree that it could be hazardous. Researchers are now suggesting that there may be an optimal margin of illusion that enables people to slightly overestimate chances of success; however, that does not typically lead to irresponsible behaviors based on false assumptions. See if you can curb your enthusiasm a bit so that you can fall within that margin. Optimism and realism need not be mutually exclusive. It’s fine to take a calculated risk, but resist plunging headlong into uncertain situations without a little research and rumination.
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