Descriptive vs. prescriptive optimism
well-being, which may also include a preference for seeing the bright side of everything. If you were allowed one wish for your child, seriously consider wishing him or her optimism. Optimists are normally cheerful and happy, and therefore popular; they are resilient in adapting to failures and hardships, their chances of clinical depression are re
... See moreDaniel Kahneman • Thinking, Fast and Slow
Optimistic people become successes. In school, on the playing field, and at work, the optimistic individual makes the most of his talent. And we now know why. The optimistic individual perseveres. In the face of routine setbacks, and even of major failures, he persists. When he comes to the wall at work, he keeps going, particularly at the crucial
... See moreMartin E.P. Seligman • Learned Optimism
The Stockdale Paradox (Jim Collins):
Every good-to-great company embraced what we came to call the "Stockdale Paradox": you must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time, have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality.