8 Principles Of Pragmatic Optimism

To go through all that the human being has gone through and to get to the point where he has arrived, it has been essential to rely on an excess of optimism. But not everyone has the same load of enthusiasm and bravery. Writer and broadcaster Mark Stevenson came up with the idea of ​​identifying the common traits of quintessential optimists. He ended up establishing the 8 Principles of Pragmatic Optimism.

Scientific and technological changes are transforming the society in which we live. It is for this reason that Stevenson believes in  providing a distinct education and living in a slightly different way from what we are experiencing today. He asserts that one must make an effort to be successful in maintaining a thought based on pragmatic optimism.

For that, he wonders how some people manage to do good things in a constantly changing world. He seeks to know what these people have in common, which makes them fight more for the future and to transform the world.

Dream and imagine

Optimism is the tendency to hope that the future offers favorable results. It requires, therefore, a great will to find solutions, benefits and possibilities, constantly focusing on the positive aspects of life.

Stevenson challenges the conformism that governs today’s society and invites us to imagine, dream and envision the future as we wish. Letting ourselves be guided by our desires is the only way to practice pragmatic optimism.

Create for the good of all

After establishing these principles, Stevenson realized that  people who bring significant breakthroughs or advancements globally are engaged and linked to projects that go far beyond their own person.

Selfishness has no place in this current of thought because its motivation is a later end, far from individualism and narcissism: to  create for the good of all, not for one’s own good or that of a few people.

Focus on what works

Beliefs are subjective. Scientific facts are objective. Stevenson considers that pragmatic optimism must be based on these, to be able to guarantee a more scientific and evidence-based form of thought. In other words,  he recommends focusing on what works, which has been proven beforehand.

For this, he takes the example of the work of an engineer compared with that of a politician. While the former builds structures starting from objective reality, the politician lets himself be guided by his ideology, very often refusing to see things as they are. Stevenson invites us to think like engineers.

Share to exercise power

Sharing ideas makes them amplify and grow. If, on the contrary, we protect these ideas, we deprive the world of them and erase the power that they imply. A brilliant idea, if not shared, remains isolated, on hold, stagnates and stops. To finally die.

Now we are all connected and change is spreading faster. This writer assures us that the  more connected we are, the faster ideas flow. He also believes that if power is pervasive on the Internet, so should responsibility be. We should not delegate them to others in a systematic way.

To be wrong means to progress

If we are wrong, it does not matter. We get up. Again and again. But one thing happens if we don’t dare to try: we are victims of the fear of failure.

Thus, Mark Stevenson pushes us to make mistakes because he believes that making mistakes is a way of moving towards success. In fact, he sees it as the best strategy for moving forward. No one has discovered the slightest thing without being wrong first.

People who believe that mistake is the greatest disaster that can happen to them get stuck. In doing so, they are committing serious irresponsibility and are unknowingly on the wrong path.

Do instead of trying

Intention drives action,  but we are not looking for trials, we are looking for action. The best way to be true to who we are is to take action, putting what we believe and think into practice. We are what we do and feel and not what we intend to do or just what we imagine.

Chase laziness

Stevenson considers cynicism to culturally rule the world. It reflects a lack of ambition and hope. Pragmatic optimism wants to get rid of laziness, excuses and personal stagnation. It is only by overcoming this mental barrier that we will be able to live joyfully.

Practice patience

Every project is a long term plan. A kind of race where we take small steps until we reach the proposed objectives. Some days we will advance a little more and others a little less, but the payoff will come sooner or later. Expectation, effort, patience and persistence make the social good provided worth it.

These 8 principles are a perfect guide to train us in the level of pragmatic optimism. This will allow us to achieve a more productive and positive personal state. Moreover, if we start to introduce it into our daily life, it will give us more confidence to transform whatever we want to do. Change is always possible.

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