Successful people always balance between pessimism and optimism.
Bill Gates is a prime example of this latent skill in action. Since founding Microsoft, he has insisted on having enough cash in the bank to sustain the company for 12 consecutive months without revenue.
In 1995, when asked why he kept so much cash, Bill Gates shared: “In technology, things change so quickly that business operations next year are not guaranteed, even if it is Microsoft.”
In 2007, Bill Gates continued to express his opinion: “I always worry because the people who work for me are older than me and have children. I always think about what will happen if they don't get paid, and whether I can pay them or not.”
What we see here is that inside Bill Gates, optimism and confidence are always mixed with heavy pessimism. What Bill Gates teaches us is that you can only be optimistic in the long run if you are pessimistic enough to survive in the short run.
As someone who has reached the pinnacle of success, billionaire Bill Gates is a prime example of maintaining a perfect balance between pessimism and optimism.
Optimism and pessimism are difficult to separate clearly.
Pessimism is essential for survival, helping us proactively prepare for risks before they strike. But optimism is equally essential. The belief that things can and will get better, even in the absence of hard evidence, is one of the most essential parts of everything from maintaining a healthy relationship to making long-term investments.
Optimism and pessimism seem like polar opposites, so people often like to separate them and compare them to each other.
However, Morgan Housel believes that knowing how to balance both of these factors has always been one of the most important skills in life, and is the most important thing that has created the success of a billionaire like Bill Gates.
Why You Should Try to Be a “Rational Optimist”
It is important to acknowledge that optimism and pessimism are present in us to some extent at any given time. On one hand, you have a purely optimistic mindset. This makes you see everything as going to be great and considers any negative things as a character flaw. It stems from the ego, when you are too confident in yourself, to the point of not even understanding the risks that may occur.
On the other hand, you will always have a purely pessimistic attitude, thinking that everything will always be terrible and not believing in positive things. This also comes from a subjective factor, when you lack confidence in yourself to the point of not being able to understand what will be better.
Balancing these two extremes will develop a skill that is extremely important to success: rational optimism. In this way, while you can acknowledge that history may be a series of problems, disappointments, and failures, you can remain optimistic because you know that failure does not prevent progress and success. In this context, you will often be able to see further and wider than others.
So in any area – from finances to career to relationships – the ability to overcome short-term problems will enable you to persevere long enough to enjoy success. To do that, save like a pessimist and invest like an optimist, plan like a pessimist and dream like an optimist.
At first glance, these may seem contradictory and impossible to coexist. However, it would be one-sided to try to define yourself as simply an optimist or a pessimist. So accept yourself as a rational optimist, with both pessimism and optimism coexisting. That is what you will see in most people who achieve long-term success.
(According to CNBC)
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