She didn’t. She continued to dig herself deeper into a hole, spending more time and energy on personality conflict than on her work, getting worse all time at her job … in what appeared for all world like “a drop in cognitive functioning,” until, not surprisingly, she was fired. We know emotions can affect cognitive functioning; that’s what Emotional Intelligence is all about. Now there’s more scientific confirmation.

The article on www.newscientist.com , based on research reported in Nature Neuroscience, must be read carefully. It’s called “Brains Drained by Hidden Race Bias.”

The article begins, “People with implicit racial prejudices are left mentally exhausted after interacting with someone from a different race, perhaps because they are trying to quell their feelings.”

This is based on finding that “areas in brain associated with self-control [executive function] light up in white people with implicit racial biases when they are shown images of black people.” (They “light up” under MRI brain scanning.)

Let me direct you at this point to site to study research design and conclusions and form your own opinion -- http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994388 .

The researchers ascertained which white subjects were racially prejudiced against black people, had them interview with a black person “on a controversial subject,” and then gave them a “thinking” test. It should be noted a “controversial subject” would add more emotion to equation.

Results obtained through MRI brain scans which are giving us so much information about intelligence, emotions, and their interaction, showed that “the subject’s mental resources [were] temporarily drained by their efforts to suppress their prejudices.”

While we can learn from both optimists and pessimists, most of us need help being optimistic. This article explores both ways of thinking, and gives some suggestions on how to become more optimistic.

The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe bad events will last a long time, undermine everything that they do, and are their fault. Optimists, confronted with same situations, believe that defeat is a temporary setback, its causes are confined to that one situation, and it's not their fault. While a pessimist may give up, an optimist will try harder to change situation.

Pros and Cons To Both Optimism and Pessimism

There are pros and cons to both optimism and pessimism. Extreme optimism can be off-putting and invalidating because it seems phony and can be a denial of reality and pain. Extreme pessimism can be depressing because it seems to only focus on negative and catastrophizes events. A healthy dose of optimism can be uplifting and hopeful, while a healthy dose of pessimism can be realistic and wise. Achieving a balance of being realistic and hopeful can be a challenge.

Differences Between Optimists and Pessimists

There are many reasons why people become pessimistic, including child trauma, losses, or highly critical parents - yet many optimists have also experienced great hardships and traumas; Anne Frank is a good example.

The difference between optimists and pessimists isn't a difference in life experiences, but rather in how people perceive and respond to adversity. For example, an optimist who is going through a hard time assumes that life will get better, while a pessimist believes life will always be difficult and painful.

These different approaches to life impact on health. People who are optimistic generally have better health, age well, and live more free of many physical problems associated with aging. Fortunately, optimism can be learned.

Ways To Be Optimistic