Why thinking positive really does get good results

Linda Blair

By the time you read this, the 2020 Bafta winners will be celebrating their victories, and in a week’s time, those who win Oscars will be doing the same.

But which nominees will have been happiest longest – those who thought they’d win or those who were practising their ‘I’m so happy for you’ faces?

Sarit Golub at Hunter College and happiness experts Daniel Gilbert at Harvard and Timothy Wilson at the University of Virginia looked at the impact of negative expectations. Participants given a personality assessment, told the predicted outcome and asked to record their mood at different times. While they waited for the assessment results, some were told to expect a positive, some a negative outcome, and controls were given no feedback.

Those expecting a poor result felt distressed beforehand, whereas those led to believe they’d enjoy a good result felt much happier while they waited. After getting the results, however, there was little difference in mood across groups.

The researchers then asked 138 undergraduates to fill in questionnaires about their mood and grade expectations after taking an exam and just before they received their grade. Everyone who did well felt better after learning their result, but those who’d had low expectations didn’t feel significantly better than the optimists.

In other words, pessimists endured more low mood – and for longer – than those with positive expectations. As the authors conclude, “anticipating troubles may be a poor strategy for maximising positive effect”.

Gilbert and Wilson argue we’re generally inaccurate when estimating future feelings, both because when we try to imagine how we’ll feel, we draw on unrepresentative (usually worst-case) memories, and because we tend to focus on the moment of discovery rather than how we’ll feel later when we’ll have adapted to changed circumstances.

If we’re so good at adapting – and research has shown we are – is it worthwhile cultivating positive expectations for any other reason?

Sonja Lyubomirsky at the University of California Riverside reviewed 225 studies of the relationship between happiness and success. A positive outlook not only correlates with success (obviously we’re happier when we’re successful) but also makes success more likely. Positivity is also associated with desirable characteristics such as increased energy, creativity, confidence, self-efficacy and likeability.

A positive outlook is worth cultivating. But how? When things go badly, treat yourself with kindness and understanding, as you would a dear friend. When things go wrong, ask yourself how it has made you stronger, what you can learn from what happened, and what will you do differently next time. Keep a record of your achievements so you can remind yourself when things turned out well.

Finally, let an ancient philosopher guide you. According to Seneca, “he who suffers before it is necessary, suffers more than is necessary”.