This reminds me of our discussions around the comfort zone. Positive comfort zoning perhaps being where we do what comes naturally to us, while negative comfort zoning might simply be avoiding the issue. It makes me think of ideas that are similar, but not exactly the same, that is: positive/negative, optimistic/pessimistic, hopeful/hopeless.

For example, it might be possible to be optimistic on a personal level (perfect your knowledge about what you desire), while also being pessimistic at a more macro level (only 1% of writers will ever make a living out of it). Thus being a positive pessimist can achieve productivity tempered with a sense of reality.

Being a hopelessly, negative optimist doesn’t strike me as a winning strategy.

I live in hope.

Interesting piece, Cristina.