The Most Optimistic People On Earth All Share This One Incredibly Annoying Trait, Says Research
They're the most positive people you'll ever meet — but once you spot this habit, you won't be able to unsee it.
Adrian Salazar | Unsplash There was a woman in our group of friends who was always late. The movie would've already started, and in she'd come. We got so fed up that we'd lie to her about when things started, just to get her to the right place at the right time.
Of course, she turned the tables on us a couple of times and got her way early. She'd sit at the bar with a drink, chatting with a new friend, and give us the what-took-you-so-long look.
I hate being late, yet I've been punished for my punctuality. I can't tell you how many times I've had to wait outside of a restaurant or bar while I waited for my tardy friends. Well, it turns out that chronically late people all have one thing in common.
According to research, the most optimistic people on earth all share one annoying trait: they're always late.
Yuri A / Shutterstock
At first, when I read that optimistic people share the character trait of lateness, I was skeptical.
Chronically late people believe they can get more things done in a limited amount of time than other people, and enjoy multitasking.
Diana De Lonzor, author of Never Be Late Again, says that many late people can be divided into two categories: First, there's the deadliner who is "subconsciously drawn to the adrenaline rush of the sprint to the finish line." Then, there's the producer "who gets an ego burst from getting as much done in as little time as possible."
"Many late people tend to be both optimistic and unrealistic, and this affects their perception of time," De Lonzor says. There's a little-known concept called The Planning Fallacy, which is a strong tendency to chronically underestimate the time a task will take to complete. The Planning Fallacy is one of the most difficult behavioral patterns to change.
Overcoming the planning fallacy requires a conscious effort to counter your inherent optimism, incorporate objective data and feedback, and acknowledge the potential for unforeseen challenges. By recognizing the power of these factors and adopting strategies to mitigate their influence, you can make more realistic plans and increase your chances of achieving successful outcomes.
But being optimistic has many health benefits, from reducing stress (don't they feel bad about being late?) to diminishing the risk of heart disease, to strengthening the immune system. And if you have a cheerful outlook on life and can laugh about things rather than stress out about them, that increases your longevity.
Keeping a positive attitude helps with your work life, too. Happiness increases productivity, makes you feel better and more creative, and you'll get along better with others. People who don't stress over the small stuff (like being on time) tend to concentrate on the big picture and see the future as bright and open for possibilities.
Lateness may not be some kind of control struggle; rather, trying to get too many things done in a small amount of time, which is an optimistic feeling.
I don't think latecomers being optimistic means that people who aren't ever late aren't hopeful in their own right — we just have a better sense of time.
Christine Schoenwald is a writer, performer, and frequent contributor to YourTango. She's had articles featured in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, Bustle, Medium, Huffington Post, Business Insider, and Woman's Day, among many others.
