Between Optimism and Cheerfulness

The Ontario Medical Association sends me magazines from time to time, and while a lot of the material doesn't apply to students, it does give some insight into the lives, activities, and viewpoints of a subset of practicing physicians. One article by Dr Darren Larsen caught my eye, and you can find it in blog form here. In short, it's a spirited defense of cheerfulness and optimism, in response to a perceived criticism from a colleague.

I consider myself an optimist. I believe that things, overall, are getting better and that there's a lot we can do to make them better. In that sense, I agree with the article - it's very important to keep a positive outlook on life! More importantly, I don't believe, as Dr Larsen asks at the beginning of their post, that optimism alienates people.

However, being optimistic wasn't the full criticism. The comment was that Dr Larsen was "as usual, overly cheerful and optimistic". And while he ably defends his optimism, he ignores the slight against his cheerfulness, and these are two very different traits.

Cheerfulness can be a problem. Cheerfulness can make others feel worse about their own negative feelings. Worse, seemingly cheerful individuals can disguise their own negative emotions under a veil of cheer. In the workplace, overly cheerful individuals are often viewed as annoying. Cheerful individuals may be the least productive. When helping patients in despair or experiencing depression, or trying to rally physicians - many of whom are also going through despair or depression in the form of burnout - cheerfulness might not be the best emotion to display in order to reach these people.

In smaller doses and over time periods, of course, cheerfulness is great. But on a regular basis, at high intensity, cheerfulness may simply be inappropriate. Same goes for every other emotion, attitude, or mood. None should ever be present always, but all can be useful depending on the situation. No one wants a coworker who's angry all the time, but there are instances when anger is appropriate! Equally true for fear, and sadness, and disgust...

You know what? I just realized half-way through this post that I'm trying to put in words what "Inside Out" already said far more capably in movie form. Anyway, go and watch that movie, it's amazing.

In any case, Dr Larsen ends with a quote from Winston Churchill who says "For myself I am an optimist – it does not seem to be much use to be anything else." On this I am in complete agreement. However, few people would accuse Churchill of being overly cheerful. There are times to be cheerful. There are times when cheerfulness is inappropriate or unhelpful. As we strive to make improvements in our lives and the lives of others, it's worth drawing on the full range of emotions available to us - even the negative ones have their role.