It can ease anxiety and improve performance.
Conventional thinking says pessimism has no place in a sharp mind. Positivity helps cultivate energy, fuel athletic progress, and build a growth mindset.
It’s easy for negative thoughts to become self-fulfilling prophecies. And because optimism makes you feel good, pessimism can be seen as all bad, explains Julie Norem, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and a pioneer in related research.
But it’s not. Consider a specific variant called defensive pessimism, characterized by setting low expectations and playing through all the bad things that might happen. Having this trait can actually increase self-esteem, ease anxiety, help you plan for and cope with the future, and improve mental performance.
Pessimism typically goes awry when it brings others down, when it snowballs into catastrophizing, or when you convince yourself that you’re powerless in changing an outcome—so you don’t even try, says Norem.
When executed properly, however, it’s a skill all athletes can hone. Here's how: