I am Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits.

When building your profitable practice, it’s important to remain optimistic. However, blind optimism doesn’t prepare you for tough times. Imagine that you’re back in school, you’ve taken an exam and aren’t sure about the outcome. You did a lot of studying, so you’re not upset that you didn’t give it the old college try. How do you choose to think about your potential grade? Dr. James Shepard of the University of Florida believes that you probably became more concerned as the revelation of your grade approached. He and other researchers wanted to see if college students’ expectations changed about their performance on a test, depending on when they were asked about how they felt. Students were asked what they thought about their performance on a midterm exam before the start of the semester. This was far in advance of the actual test.

As it turns out, most of the students were positive thinkers. They had a lot of faith in themselves to do the necessary work in preparation to score well on the midterm. Then they were asked how they felt immediately after the test, there weren’t so many that were feeling good about their performance. Finally, they were asked about their feelings moments before receiving their final grades. At this point, there were even more worst-case scenario thinkers. However, some students had a persistently positive attitude at the beginning of the semester, immediately after they took the test, and right before their grades were revealed.

The danger of toxic positivity

Preparing for the worst possible outcome is sometimes the best option. As you move towards an event or result, thinking about what might go wrong can help you better prepare yourself for that possibility. Therefore, people stock up on supplies before a hurricane. Though hurricanes notoriously change directions at a moment’s notice, smart people prepare for the worst possible storm path ahead of time. In the research with the college students, those who consistently predicted a more positive result were often blindsided. They didn’t score as well as they thought they would. They were shell shocked. They were in no way prepared for the situation, and it was very difficult for them to deal with it. People that entertain the possibility of a less than favorable outcome, were often pleasantly surprised by their grades.

This is just one example of toxic positivity, always remaining positive no matter what, causing emotional distress. This inability to see process and deal with negative events can be crippling. It’s been proven to negatively affect physical and mental health and well-being. It also hampers your ability to brace for and recover from tough times as much as a realistic outlook can help you prepare properly.

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There’s nothing wrong with being optimistic, but there’s a way to go about it. Check out our blog post here for tips on the best ways to cultivate optimism.

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I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits. Please go to businessofrehab.com/contractnegotiations to pick up the free guide to help you negotiate the contract of your dreams.

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