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Optimism and Success

Submitted to: Ma’am ZareenRana
Submitted by:
 Hammad Fozi

L14-4096

 Fahad Zafar

L14-4048

 Muhammad Fiaz

L10-4185

Submitted on: Wednesday, 27th May 2015

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Acknowledgements

We’re grateful to those who supported us throughout the process of writing this Report
...
ZareenRana for her guidance and constant supervision as well as for
providing necessary information regarding the project and also for her support in completing this
report
...


Special thanks to our close friends who proofread and pilot tested the survey and interview
questions for us
...


Finally, we would like to thank everyone who participated in the completion of this report
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This report would
not have been possible without you
...
This report
is to enlighten peopleabout the optimistic approach
...
This report is examined using a mixed method
approach which includes a questionnaires and observations
...
People who take their problems positively and don’t quit are the ones who get success in
their lives and those people not only succeed themselves, they motivate others to follow in their
footsteps
...
i
Abstract
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1
1
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1
1
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2
1
...
3
Section 2: Methodology
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5
3
...
5
3
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1 Questionnaires
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1
...
6
3
...
7
3
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1 Questionnaires
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2
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8
3
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9
Section 4: Conclusion
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1 Recommendations
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14
4
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14
References
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1 Background

Optimism is defined as “the belief that good things will happen to you and that negative events
are temporary setbacks to be overcome
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Everyone gets hurt and goes down, but not everyone gets back up
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They know that winning isn’t something you gain at the first step,
it’s what you get in the last
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Optimistic people are not overconfident
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”

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An optimist sees challenges as temporary, able to be overcome, and as stepping stones that are
leading them to a better solution
...


Without question, optimistic people are a lot more fun to be around
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The have an energetic sparkle that draws everyone to want to
be around them
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Ashkanashay, 2004[3]&Barsade and Gibson, 2007 [4]) due to the
assumption that emotional processes influence performance (Rafaeli&Kluger, 2000)
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[6]

1
...


-

Find a correlation with optimism and success
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1
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Questionnaire were distributed among 24 students and 12 adults, with one-to-one male to female
ratio
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This report is limited to the people living in Lahore, Pakistan
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Section 2: Methodology
A mixed methods approach was selected for the data collection process which comprised of a
questionnaire and personal observations
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The students had to be from 18 to 25 years old and the adults had to be
successful employees in top-level firms
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Half the students were from FAST University
and the other half from COMSATS University respectively, both being further sub-divided into
half males and half females
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Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire that asked them to simply state yes or no to a
few questions
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Personal observations were also carried out in context to the mixed method approach
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Their attitudes and their level of success was kept in mind
while doing so
...
First, there are no
existing statistics on optimism and success in Pakistan, so performing quantitative study filled
this research gap
...

Questionnaire analysis allow for large qualities of data and observation narrows the types of
research questions that can be addressed by using both qualitative and quantitative analyses in
this study, research depth and breadth were achieved, and the weaknesses that would have been
present if only one type of analysis was used were offset
...
To do
this, we take a two-step approach
...


3
...
This rejection is dangerous since
negative thinking promotes truthful and realistic appraisals
...
negative thinking is not only valuable, but indispensable, and suggest
that we give much too little attention to acknowledging, confronting,
accepting, and perhaps even embracing suffering and loss
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Among those worse things are ignorance, banality,
credulity, self-deception, narcissism, insensitivity, philistinism, and
isolation”
Also, it has been noted that positively thinking people’s expectation of their performance is often
an overestimation of reality (Fredrickson, 2001)
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[11]

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Seligman warned that optimism “may sometimes keep us from seeing reality with the necessary
clarity
...
”
-Stefano Della Vigna (2009) [12]

3
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1 Questionnaires
The students responded to the questionnaires with great zeal and vigor
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However, it
was also noted that these 30% people either procrastinated a lot or were lazy
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In the case of adults, no negative outcomes were present
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1
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If they were positive, they were very positive
and if they were negative, they were gloomy and depressed
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These people were closer to be realistic
than optimistic
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3
...
Consider the following
sayings:
“Cheer up, things could be
worse
...
”
“In our music we have been
told to “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the
Positive”
- (Mercer & Arlen, 1945) [13]
“Put on a Happy Face”
- (Adams &Strouse, 1960) [14]
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”
- (McFerrin, 1988) [15]
Academics has made room for the new disciplines of “positive psychology” (Seligman
&Pawelski, 2003) [16]
...

Furthermore, the book written by Dale Carnegie, “How to Win Friends and Influence People
became a best-seller and made great accomplishments to point out what this report is based on
...
2
...
It lead us to point out what we wanted to
achieve with this report
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Another fact noted out of the statistics was that males generally had a more
positive attitude towards their life as compared to female students
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3
...
2 Observations
Observation has pointed out that optimistic people have:
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Increased life span

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Lower rates of depression

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Lower levels of distress

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Greater resistance to the common cold

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Better psychological and physical well-being

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Reduced risk of death from heart disease

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Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

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3
...


Thinking of a problem in the future?
I'll deal with it and make it better

That can't happen to me

40%

60%

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60% people seem over-confident
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TAKE ON LIFE?

Positive
45%

Negative
55%

About 45% people hold a positive attitude in life, a minority
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DO YOU PROCRASTINATE?
No
15%

Yes
85%

A lot of people procrastinate! Especially students
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Section 4: Conclusion
In light of all facts encountered and all the
data collected, the conclusion seems
simple and easy to comprehend
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Optimists tend to share several other
positive characteristics that increase
overall happiness and promote health,
while reducing depression and chronic
stress:
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They think about, reflect on, and emphasize the good things in life
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They don’t complain when something bad happens
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-

They believe in abundance
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4
...
Be the change you wish to see
in others
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It influences your life more than you know
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If the first step
you do is think it’s impossible, no matter what you do, or how you do, you won’t be able
to accomplish that task
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Don’t let them affect you in any way
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Try to build integrity for it
compliments optimism to a great degree
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It’s about how you connect the dots
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If God loves you more than own mother
can [18], then He always wants the best for you
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Therefore, if He wills it and He loves you so much, then whatever happens in your
life is for your own good and betterment
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Appendices
4
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When you think of some problem in the future, what do you think?
1) That couldn’t happen to me
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Q2
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What do you do?
1) There’s no way it will work
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Q3
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I’m going to do a lot better with time
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I think I’m not cut out for this
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Q4
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Do you tend to leave important tasks such as making assignments, etc
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I work hard
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Q5
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Emotion and performance
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[4] Gibson, &Sanbonmatsu(2004)
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Personality and Social Psychological Bulletin
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Emotions in the workplace: Research, theory and practice
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The role of goal orientation on negative emotions
and goal setting when initial performance falls short of one’s performance goal
...

[7] Jopling (1996)
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Philosophical Psychology
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The power of negative thinking: Truth, melancholia, and the tragic sense of
life
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[9] Fredrickson (2001)
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American Psychologist
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Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on
mental health
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[11]Taylor& Armor (1996)
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Journal of Personality
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Why we make mistakes: How we look without seeing, forget
things in seconds, and are all pretty sure we are way above average
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[13]Mercer & Arlen (1945)
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[14] Adams &Strouse (1960)
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[15] McFerrin (1988)
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[16] Seligman &Pawelski (2003)
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Psychological Inquiry
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Positivity and successful people
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[18] Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Book 73, Number 28

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