It is firmly accepted by Robert’s teammates that his talent for basketball is superior to that of another teammate, Brian. Yet Brian is a more successful athlete – more points per game than Robert. Brian is an upbeat guy who is known for his persistence when faced with a scoring drought; he just keeps trying, and eventually he gets back on the scoreboard.
This imaginary scenario conveys what countless studies have proved: you cannot succeed with ability alone. What makes the difference is optimism. In this section, we will take a tour of some of the research that has been conducted into the benefits of optimism in various real-life settings. No matter what situation you are in, qualities such as emotional intelligence (see pp.20–21), self-esteem (see pp.22–3) and resilience (see pp.24–5) will help you to succeed.
No empowerment is so effective as self-empowerment. In this world, the optimists have it, not because they are always right, but because they are positive. Even when wrong, they are positive, and that is the way of achievement.
David Landes (1924–2013)
A study of first-year college students found that those with an optimistic explanatory style for negative events (it’s not my fault; it won’t last; it doesn’t affect anything else) tended to have higher grades than students of similar ability who had a pessimistic explanatory style. The researchers also noted that the optimistic students set more specific goals and were more likely to seek academic counselling than the pessimistic students. These two “take action” factors were both felt to contribute to the success of the optimistic students.
Optimism tests can also predict success in the workplace, particularly in the area of sales, where the ability to bounce back from rejection (see pp.46–9) is a central requirement. In a pivotal study conducted by Martin Seligman (see p.14) in conjunction with a leading insurance firm, it was found that members of the company’s sales force who scored highly when tested for optimism sold significantly more insurance and were less likely to quit than those whose scores were low. By incorporating Seligman’s Attributional Style Questionnaire into its recruitment procedure, the company was able to boost sales and morale and dramatically reduce staff turnover.
The world of sports, with its precise performance measures, provides an excellent arena for demonstrating the power of optimism. Time and again, teams and individual competitors with optimistic attributional styles outperform pessimistic rivals of similar or greater natural ability. In one study, swimmers competed in an event swimming their best stroke. After the event all swimmers were deliberately misinformed that their performance had been below average. They were asked to swim the same event again. Optimistic swimmers did as well as the first time, whereas pessimistic swimmers swam more slowly the second time.