Recently I have read a book by a molecular biologist and a science journalist Irina Yakutenko titled ‘Willpower and self control’ (it is in Russian and is not translated into English, sadly). Overall it is an intriguing read, especially since I am genuinely interested in the topic, although is a bit too detailed about biological and medical causes of the problems with willpower, and not as detailed about what one has to do to overcome them. Still, something I have enjoyed reading and, hopefully, picked up a practical advice or two.
One thought that drew my attention was that ‘typical personal traits of a pessimistically inclined person (they can be determined with specific personality tests) are similar or the same as typical traits of a person suffering from neuroticism’.
Very intriguing, I thought. And quite shocking — because according to the author, a pessimistic frame of mind would affect a person in the way that constant chronic stress would do — that is, very badly, significantly worsening not only our emotional state, but even our physical state, including decreasing our ability to control our overall well-being.
Very intriguing, I thought. And quite shocking — because according to the author, a pessimistic frame of mind would affect a person in the way that constant chronic stress would do — that is, very badly, significantly worsening not only our emotional state, but even our physical state, including decreasing our ability to control our overall well-being.
Pessimism —> chronic stress —> less willpower —> bad quality of life and less opportunities to be happy and successful.
Of course, we can argue on the exact notion of the term ‘pessimist’ and we can disagree on who is and who isn’t a pessimist — it is a spectrum, after all.