Lent, in the Christian tradition, is a forty-day period of fasting and prayer leading up to Easter. The spiritual purpose of Lent is to prepare the believer through prayer and sacrifice. In contemporary society, people usually deny themselves something that they need, so as to cultivate this discipline. People may give up anything from alcohol, to dessert or even sex. Regardless of whether we have another religion or whether we are atheists, the idea of preparing ourselves to increase commitment to our beliefs is a universally important spiritual practice. As the period of Lent has just begun, I thought that I would offer a suggestion for something to give up: Pessimism. Why give up pessimism?
In this time of economic uncertainty and worry, many people already feel burned out, whether they are unemployed or still at work. Recent studies show that pessimism is strongly associated with burnout, and that having a negative attitude may make you burnout even faster. This is probably because pessimism closes off possibilities and life becomes a drag, thereby utilizing more brain energy to get things done. Giving up pessimism is therefore conducive to giving your brain more energy and openness to get things done.
I think of pessimism as a closed door and optimism as an open door. If you think with an attitude of pessimism, your thoughts and actions are constantly bumping against closed doors, whereas optimism opens doors and allows for the free and less exhausting flow of thoughts. I believe that pessimism, in closing doors, ends up using a tremendous amount of brain energy, and shuts down much of the functioning brain, resulting in depression. With optimism, you still have to do something, but at least you will have the brain energy to do things.
Perhaps even more startling is the fact that pessimism has also been shown to increase the risk for disease and early death. In fact, a recent study showed that pessimism causes an increase in certain cells and substances in the body that may increase the rate of aging or even illness such as cancer. The process of aging in women who have reached menopause is accelerated when they are pessimistic. This is partly related to the release of certain substances from white blood cells. Also, within white blood cells, shortening of certain strands of DNA has been linked to cancer of the esophagus. Pessimism accelerates this shortening and thereby increases the chances that one would get cancer.
Furthermore, breast and thyroid cancer survivors who are pessimistic have a quality of life that is much poorer than those who are not.
The idea of giving up pessimism for Lent is really a way of saying: let's give up this addiction to negativity. Like any addiction, it is very difficult to do this, but remembering a few basic principles may help get you on your way to a more positive and healthy life:
1. Draw a table. Write out three things that you are pessimistic about in one column. Notice how this closes your brain doors. Now, in the second column, write down another message to give your brain that opens its doors.
For example:
"This recession is going to be really bad" (closed door) becomes "I must look for opportunities to help grow myself and others out of this recession" (open door)
2. Draw a "pessimism graph" for yourself each week. On the X-Axis rank your energy level for that day and on the Y-Axis rank your pessimism on that day. You will notice how frequently your energy level correlates with your pessimism. To help remember why you need to decrease your pessimism, draw a horizontal line across the graph at an arbitrary point (I would suggest 6 out of 10) at which you write in "cancer risk/faster aging/depression)
This will help to remind you of why you should focus on being less pessimistic.
3. Physical exercise will get those endorphins going and will increase your optimism. Go for a brisk walk outside. This also gets your mind off of pessimism.
4. Reframe your language. If you look at the history of recessions in the US for example, there have been recessions in 1797, 1807, 1819, 1837, 1857, early 2000s and now the late 2000s. Recessions are not a permanent state. They are the down part of the cycle. Think of your "down" moments as being the down part of a cycle, and not a static down. This will help you remember that there is an up part to the cycle.
5. Play the "perspective changing game". Chart out your imagined "best life" for the next five years. As a suggestion, you may measure net worth, children or not, relationship status, ideal weight, and job status. On the second day, chart out your life for one year in more detail. Then, chart out your life for one month in more detail. Finally, chart out your life for one week and then one day in greater and greater detail. Then, for the upcoming weeks, only look at your five year plan on day 1, and amend what you will. Thereafter, focus on your day plan. Notice how your day plan matches your five-year plan on day 7. Repeat this every month for a year. You will find that amending your day plan to suit your five-year plan raises your consciousness and distracts you from pessimism.
Thus, whether you are Christian or not, I suggest giving up "pessimism" now, and then forever after. You have little to lose but the addiction and fear, and a lot to gain by living a healthier and more fulfilling life.