Photo Credit: Rifka Schonfeld
Think of a situation you want to do your best in related to work, social life, or any life goal. Think of how you prepare for those situations. Give yourself a score of 1 if the statement is not true of you, a 2 if the statement is sometimes true, and a 3 if the statement is often true of you.
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| Score (1-3) | |
| I start out expecting the worst, even though I will probably be okay. | |
| I worry about how things will turn out. | |
| I carefully consider all possible outcomes. | |
| I often worry that I won’t be able to carry through my intentions. | |
| I spend lots of time imagining what could go wrong. | |
| I try to picture how I could fix things if something went wrong. | |
| I’m careful not to become overconfident in these situations. | |
| I spend a lot of time planning when one of these situations is coming up. | |
| I imagine how I would feel if things went well. | |
| Considering what can go wrong helps me to prepare. | |
| Total: |
How to interpret your score:
| 1-10 | 10-20 | 20-30 |
| You most probably fall into the category of a strategic optimist. You choose to believe that things will work out and do not focus on the negative outcomes that may occur. This helps you approach situations with confidence. | You fall into neither the strategic optimist nor defensive pessimist category. Perhaps you use both strategies in different situations. On the other hand, you could employ neither strategy. | You most probably fall into the category of defensive pessimist. Knowing what can go wrong and thinking about ways to fix those wrongs is a great way you deal with your anxiety surrounding important life goals. |
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