Re: on the cost/benefits of optimism and pessimism.....


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On 31 Aug, 19:39, "DVH" <d...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
<jobl...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

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On 31 Aug, 17:38, "DVH" <d...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"abelard" <abela...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

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http://metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=book&id=37...
"The essence of the book lies in the investigation into whether
optimism is a healthy trait or not. The glib answer may well be that
it is obvious that it is. However, the actual results are much more
interesting. Given that eighty percent of people are moderately to
very optimistic, what does that imply for the daily lives of these
people? The author makes it clear that optimism is not simply a
positive outlook on life; optimism is also about what one actually
does. In other words, optimism is not about wearing rose-tinted
spectacles; it is about rolling up one's sleeves and trying to bring
into existence the ideals one holds. Putting that into practical
terms, the author shows how, when faced with a difficult university
course, a sixth of very optimistic students might drop out, a
quarter
of the moderately optimistic students and a whopping third of the
pessimists. So that all looks cut and dried, doesn't it? It is not.

First of all, the author makes it plain that there are times when
giving up is the better option. She uses the example of a man trying
to get a date with a woman whom he finds very attractive. If she
turns
him down the first time, it is most certainly worthwhile for him to
persevere and try for a second, third or fourth time. However, if he
has a restraining order against him forbidding him to contact the
woman, it is time to give up! In other words, there is a formula
which
balances the possible costs against the possible chance of success.
If
the woman has taken out a court order against him, the chances of
her
granting him a date are infinitesimally small while, if he persists
in
approaching her, his chances of landing up in prison are extremely
large. Even an optimist should bow out gracefully at this point."

"Marketing guru Seth Godin's latest book, The Dip, says there's no
shame
in
quitting when you're in a hopeless situation. If that sounds negative,
it's
not. Godin just recommends setting high standards and to be the "best"
in
your chosen field, or get out and do something else. "

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/spotlight/article_display.jsp?vnu_co...

"I did a gig in New York today about the Dip and it went really well.
Afterward, someone asked me a question about his new business.
I asked back, "if you accomplish that, will you be seen by your
audience
as
the best in the world, or will you be seen as doing your best?"

He didn't have to answer. He got it.

If you're doing your best, only your AYSO soccer coach cares. If
you're
the
best in the world, the market cares. The secret, if you have limited
resources (don't we all) is to make 'world' small enough that you can
actually accomplish that."

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/the_dip/2007/05/my_favorite_lin.html-Hide
quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

These Americans management gurus do like to state the bleedin obvious
at great length, don't they?

There's something very English about disapproval of stating the obvious.
Everything is supposed to be effortless and instinctive. Mustn't stifle
the
creativity, old boy, or avoid the possibility of an entertaining ***-up.

I find this sort of thing useful.

Really? I've read quite a few such books, and generally found them
strangely unsatisfactory.

Well, I'm surprised. I thought self-help books would be illegal in the
Hutcheon household.

One I recall was 'who moved my cheese' or
somesuch; it enjoyed a great vogue at the time it came out yet to me,
it seemed little more than a collection of platitudes.

I read one called "Who Moved My Grebe?"

It was pretty good.




"Marketing guru Seth Godin's latest book, The Dip, says there's no
shame in quitting when you're in a hopeless situation". Well, that's
good to know, Seth, thanks a bundle.

From abe's link: "First of all, the author makes it plain that there
are times when giving up is the better option. She uses the example of
a man trying
to get a date with a woman whom he finds very attractive. If she turns
him down the first time, it is most certainly worthwhile for him to
persevere and try for a second, third or fourth time. However, if he
has a restraining order against him forbidding him to contact the
woman, it is time to give up". No? Really?! That's just *so*
insightful!

It's comic, I agree.



I much prefer WC Field's pithier dictum: 'If at first you don't
succeed, try again. Then give up. No sense being a damn fool about
it'.

But it's saying the same thing, only in a different way.- Hide quoted
text -

- Show quoted text -

In a shorter, pithier, and what's more, funnier way and in one line
rather than an entire book.



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