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When people ask me why I’m so negative, I always tell them I’m simply looking out for my best interests and everyone else’s．But negativity gets a bad reputation．Everywhere you look, someone’s talking about the power of positive thinking．
My life is good and I contribute it to imagining the worse and then being pleasantly surprised when the worst doesn’t happen．Last week, I read about a report out of the Netherlands suggesting this outlook increases my chances of dying from heart disease．
This news might have moved me to change my ways, but then I saw an article about some new data from Denmark．Over the last three decades, Danes have been shown to have higher rates of “life satisfaction” than any other Western country．Their key to contentment? Low expectations．
As the article explained, Danes know they don’t come from the largest, blondest or most temperate nation on the earth．They don’t expect to be the winners of any game．So when good things happen, they are that much happier．
This is the philosophy I’ve been living for years．It’s why I go to every party expecting to have a miserable time and leave for every vacation thinking it will rain．These things rarely happen, so every time things don’t turn out so bad, I’m relieved and joyful．That’s the power of negative thinking．
I strongly doubt if there is a sense of contentment being too positive, especially when expectation gets confused with hope．Americans seem unable to separate these ideas．Our entire belief is wrapped up in the myth of turning dreams into reality, of constantly reaching for higher goals, of never settling．Obviously, this can-do spirit turned us into the most powerful nation in the world．But I’ve always thought we would get better results with a belief like “the pursuit of contentment”．
It is interesting how it sounds strange that people often hope to get the best, while making preparations for the worst”．But that’s the problem with positive thinking．Because it ignores satisfaction, which is really desirable, and runs after high expectations, which are less likely to be achieved．So let’s stop being so optimistic．
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