In essence, chapter 8 of the book focuses on the value of fear and anxiety and how defensive pessimism can be more beneficial than strategic optimism. It is stated that darts throwers who envisioned their potential failure were 29 percent more accurate than strategic optimists (Grant 213). The main idea is that negative thinking is critical, ensuring success and positive outcomes, and people who feel afraid and anxious are more likely to perform better than the ones who are calm and expect positive results. Avoiding the majority effect is an approach that dismisses the popular solutions and implements original ones. Defensive pessimism is a term used to describe a person who feels anxious and expects the worst before an action (Grant 212). A strategic optimist is one who remains calm and relaxed, and he or she expects the most successful outcome (Grant 212). Intuitive forecasting is a method of making future predictions based on intuitive thinking, and it does not involve processes such as gathering data and conducting a thorough analysis.
Being original and creative is a highly risky task, which is why it is associated with a certain level of fear. One might think that being calm and confident is a correct strategy when following the path of originality, but according to Grant, negative thinking leads to positive outcomes (212). For example, the students that reframed their fear into excitement were more persuasive at delivering speech than the ones who calmed themselves (Grant 215). Therefore, it is important for people seeking to be original and unique to be able to embrace fear and anxiety by turning them into motivation and excitement. The main issue is not negative thinking itself, but rather not using its power.
Work Cited
Grant, Adam. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World. Penguin Books, 2017.