BLOGPOST 7: Change the Wiring

Nothing is permanent but change. Life is really a matter of change. Every day, we accept the fact that nothing can remain constant forever. Nothing will always be there except change. Why then? Time wears down on everything in one way or the other. Even if today might be the greatest ever, still nobody would surely assure you that tomorrow will be as great as today.


Well, this also applies in the different views in life, optimism-pessimism. Like someone who sees the glass as half empty, it goes to show that one could end up seeing the glass as half full too. The change is applicable to how we see life. Or in other words, it just show that pessimists can be optimists too. So now, one can develop a new studies to rewire this dark view into a vision of a bright world.

As I searched over some articles behind the understanding of this change, I found one entitled "How Pessimists Become Optimists: The Science Behind Affective Mindsets And Overcoming Negatives Biases" by Chris Weller.



The author started his article stating that psychologists claim that the certain cause of human behavior is nature vs nurture. Nature vs nature centers in the contributions of genetic inheritance and environmental factors. To explain further, refer to the photo beside. The character stated that "It's not all genetics, a lot of what makes a musician great is how they grow up." The statement might not be that clear, but what it is intended to say is that when someone is musically inclined, it isn't just so because his parents are inborn musicians but also it is a result of the enriched environment. Considering these assumptions, it just shows that certain things are developed depending on the genes and environment. This enters the fact that pessimism as part of a human behavior isn't actually just an inborn trait. If it isn't an inborn trait, then it also shows that pessimism isn't resistant to change. Development from the environment would help out pessimists to reach out the desired changes.

Also from the article, Tim Spector made a research on twins in order to understand how epigenetics which is the study of gene changes via environmental factors, influence behavior. It was made possible that identical twins differs in the viewpoint in life in which one is an optimist, and the other is a pessimist. He has found out that there's actually a room for plasticity in our genetic world. It is amazing how our world has been evolving. Making optimism and pessimism emancipated or unchained in our mindset. In which may give pessimists an opportunity to become optimists.

Lastly, the author also added that biases affect our mindset. The negative bias from pessimists would cloud negativity in a situation and vice versa for optimists. The thing is, these biases are controllable. Life is a matter of choice. Change is favorable depending on how we control life.A pessimist may undergo mindful meditation and try a short course on cognitive bias modification (CBM), in order to discard negativity and accept more on positivity. Making unwanted pessimists celebrate their being for it shows that you can actually change your outlook.

Now that you're aware of this change, let's move on to the coping styles. An article in which may help pessimists to overcome pessimism is entitled Becoming an Optimist by Amy Przeworski, from the website http://www.psychologytoday.com

The author proved the saying "An old dog can't learn new tricks" wrong. It wasn't applicable to pessimists, I must say. The author also added that pessimism is caused by a brain asymmetry, leaving a lot of activities from the left hemisphere than the right.

Research shows that people can change alter their path to optimism and say goodbye to pessimsm. Also, researchers claim that people just have to teach themselves in order to be optimistic within 7 weeks by simply looking at angry and smiling faces, and by meditating for 20 minute. This procedural coping style will surely make a balance to this brain asymmetry 

To fully strengthen her article she habe presented 8 steps to overcome this pessimism. First of all, breath. Before you give te feeling of the air flow slowly going inside your nostrils and goes down your throat into your lungs. Second,Listen to your heart. Feel your heart beat throwing it back to every part of your body. Third, Organize your thoughts. Think about your problems rationally instead of reacting to them emotionally. Fourth, Don’t try to stop your thoughts. Struggling your thoughts only make you stronger. Fifth, Act as if your thoughts are ambient noise. Make your thoughts like a noise that if you hear them, you don't listen to them. Sixth, Don’t judge your thoughts. Treat them with forgiveness, it will be easier to handle them. Seventh, Bring your thoughts back to track. Don't let negativity get in your thoughts. Lastly, Exercise this for a few minutes. Your brain will stop running in circles, and eventually it will work. The more you practice – the more you can easily handle worries and be in less panic.

Taking note of these steps, the essential key is practice, practice, and practice. It will surely take a long time to put off negativity and to learn optimism. But with that, you will notice that you can teach an old dog new tricks or that dog may see a brighter world instead of the gloomy outlook. Be that as it may, a person could actually just manually change the perspective without undergoing some technical procedures. 
Or generally, this pessimism is also subject to change.

Summing up both articles, it goes to show that pessimism isn't change resistant. Although it may take a little while, it still doesn't deprive you to change the way you see life. Both articles have presented different ways to get a lift on the other side. It could be done manually or technically from the world advancement. Yet, it leads you to the same purpose: CHANGE. Also, I have observed that this change of outlook is only for pessimist wanting to become optimists. It may be just  from my baseless observation, but I really did not find any way how optimists turn out to be pessimists. To add up, I have also concluded from this research that pessimism is all in the mind. It's just on the way how people control their behavior. By anytime you wish to change the wiring, you actually can.

BLOGPOST 6: Is Pessimism a Choice?

How you see the world, whether an optimistic or pessimistic view, definitely makes a difference in your life. There may be some people that are wired up with negativity, some people lean toward a pessimistic view, and some people take pessimism to a whole greater level.  But to have think it over again, who do we blame for this thinking? Is it because you are the beloved of God that's why you are the chosen one? Thinking about how they arrived at such disposition, can we blame our genes for this?

To kill the curiosity, I went through different articles that may help me out in this research. I found an article entitled New link found between genes and pessimism by Jennifer Wade from the website http://www.thejournal.ie. The article interests me because it made an ignorant like me knowledgeable of this scientific phenomena of this .

According to the article, from the study of University of British Columbia, there are people that are genetically predisposed to see the world in a negative way. It is also a surprise for researchers for such findings also show that genetics can affect individual differences in emotional perception and human subjectivity.

The author also added,

“The findings suggest people experience emotional aspects of the world partly through gene-coloured glasses — and that biological variations at the genetic level can play a significant role in individual differences in perception.”

Well, that answers it! There is indeed a specific gene variant that causes pessimists to recognize negativity more than any other people. This gene is namely "ADRA2B deletion variant" which is found to play a role in the formation of emotion. This gene variant also play a role when humans perceive thing. Once in a while, we can't deny we've gone pessimistic in a situation. But it goes to show that there are some that exceed the normal level of negativity, making them a natural born pessimists. Thus, this genetic variation affect how people view and sustain the world. If this is so, then we can infer that some people are just forced to be pessimistic in words and actions.

Another article that affirms the first one is entitled, Hater gonna hate New Study Reveals People Just Dont Like Anything, by Daily Mail Reporter from the website of http://www.dailymail.co.uk/.

The author stated that pessimism is part of their personality. From the study made of researchers, traits such as extroversion, introversion, optimism, and pessimism differ from normal disposition. In addition, there are just some people who are naturally pessimistic in life regardless of what they are. It doesn't limit to pessimists, even optimists may tend to dislike anything.

The author also considered the study conducted by Justin Hepler, who is a professor of psychology. In which he selected a sample of 1,300 people, who were presented with a list of 200 unrelated items and concepts, including babies on airplanes, canoes, Facebook and lawyers. The researcher chose a list of 16 items and increased the number of participants in the study to 2,000. The study subject were asked to rate items on the list from 1 to 7, with the lower number representing 'extremely unfavorable' and the higher 'extremely favorable.' To connect the purpose of the study, participants also took surveys to test for personality traits like optimism and introversion. From this study, I have concluded that while some personalities are often compliant with other matter, there were still statistically distinct from one another.In other words, these are how people result to this disposition. Some fell in the category of optimists, for example, loved a lot of things, but there were others in the same group who hated many of the items on the list. In addition, researchers say that some pessimists who wish to adjust their attitude towards various things could do so by spending time in the company of friends with a positive outlook.

To sum things up, there are really some people that are meant to be negatively inclined. It may be that some chose to become a pessimist, but technically, there are some who are really programmed to become pessimists. We can't blame them after all. It's not the life that they choice. Instead, we should just respect their being. In addition, it just shows that PESSIMISM IS GENETIC AND HEREDITARY. It just show that there is a certain chemical that makes people to become pessimists. Thus, I conclude that PESSIMISTS WILL CONTINUE TO GROW INDEFINITELY. That makes them Immortal! It will be passed and passed to different generations. If that is so, then does it mean that pessimists are immortal too? :)

BLOGPOST 5: Pessimism in the Workplace

Whenever I hear the word career prospects, I'll have to say I want to become an internal auditor, a chief accounting officer, or even a president of a multinational company. BIG WORD, isn't it? Well, it is undeniable that almost all of us want to get ahead in our career. It's important for us to pursue opportunities that are good match of our interests, skills, and degree. It may be a looooooooong way to go but through patience and perseverance, we'll end up in our destination. Whatever thing you work now will pay off in the future. Not only will you end up in the career that suits your degree, but also in a wide range of variety that may be a lot better from your career now. In addition, you'll also have a better understanding of where you need to build new skills and develop existing ones to be successful in your career. HOWEVER the success of career differs with pessimists. Pessimism is believed to be a hindrance in one's career. Is it really so?

It was weird how I arrived at two articles of the same title from a single website but of different authors. Even so, the reasoning somehow varies.

Starting with the first article entitled How being a Pessimist can Affect your Career Prospects by Michelle Wilkinson from the website http://www.careerpath360.com. The article was helpful to let me understand the connection between the two.

The author strongly states that it is evident that being a pessimist have a negative impact on your career prospects. It has always been that the negativity would automatically lead to negative career prospects. In addition, this negative effect actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Self-fulfilling prophecy is like a belief that will eventually fall into reality.


From the picture, it may be kind of a senseless comic, yet it actually gave a view of this prophecy. It happens that "Hot chocolate" is scared of the unknown. The fact that Hot chocolate doesn't make a good first impression, that is probably why he ended up being scared at all. Hot Chocolate would probably remain constant to his thoughts. In connection to the career prospects, being a pessimist actually works that way too. If you believe that you're going to end up getting them minimum wage, and very low status. This is exactly what's going to happen too. Pessimists close one's eyes to great career prospects, and instead rely on the worst possible outcome. Pessimists assume things negatively that they don't anymore bother to alter the situation. It is also the attitude towards your career that makes it turn out as what is perceived. Thus, making pessimism affects the decision you make in your career. 

The author also added that it isn't the nature that is always pessimistic in your career, but also one's thinking which often accompanies a feeling of self-doubt and low self-esteem. If this is so, then pessimists who think that they lack confidence to find a career that is a lot better, they would eventually just stuck to whatever they have now. They wont opt for for better opportunities. Pessimists make it hard for themselves to focus on their assets and sell their potentials and skills to good companies. Therefore, it is their pessimistic mind or rather one's self is their best enemy.


In the same title as of the first, the second article entitled How Being a Pessimist Can Affect Your Career Prospects by Maria C. Collins from the same website which is www.careerpath360.com was able to give readers a clear view how negativity leaves a mark in one's career prospects.

According to the article, a negative attitude not only affects the workplace, but also the workers involved in the workplace. It is not always the workplace that is affected by this pessimism. The people associated by this pessimist would also make them doubt their job security, their abilities and  reduce the productivity in the workplace. In addition to this matter, the negativity may drive the office workers to avoid him. The worst case might cause trouble and fights with the colleagues. If this is so, then a pessimist wont be able to show the skills and abilities that may give him a promotion. This interference may not lead the pessimist to his/her desired career prospect. A negative outlook may discourage and interfere workers rather than to urge them to productivity. In this case, a pessimistic mind would also give a bad impression to customers, leading to a bad impression to the company.

With regards to the employer in the workplace, it is also mentioned that a pessimist may lose his job entirely. Employers may give assumptions like a pessimist isn't happy with his job, or a pessimist is just causing trouble in the workplace. If it happens that a pessimist lose his job, it wouldn't be that easy to get another job. Even from the first job itself, if a pessimist's career prospect is to become a chief accounting officer, if from the start the pessimist clouds negativity in the interview, no employer would like to accept a employee like that. A pessimistic mind during interviews could also interfere your abilities. It goes the same. Employers would still give negative assumptions, leading to a rejection in the desired job. 

The author ended his article stating that pessimists should take a look at their actions. Sometimes, they never realized how bad have they become it's because the negativity has been a habit to them. This negativity in the workplace should alter the way you look at the world and try to find the good in things rather than the bad. Therefore, having such a negative, pessimistic attitude will damage your career prospects.


Summing up both articles, pessimism is definitely a hindrance in one's career. Not only it affects the career, the people in the workplace, the workplace itself, BUT ALSO ONE'S FUTURE. The negativity goes in a domino effect. Your career gets messed up, you messed up somebody's career, you messed up the costumer's impression, you messed up the company itself, YOU MESSED UP YOUR LIFE AND IT WILL CONTINUALLY GROW BEING MESSED UP. Every thing goes into a mess. There are a lot better perspective we should take into consideration, and pessimism's not one of them.  Therefore, I have concluded that pessimism is a bad habit that should be refrained in the workplace.

BLOGPOST 4: Pessimistic Love

Love is such a word that may mean many things. It could be for people, animals, or even material things. Even so, it is all the same thing: LOVE. Giving in emotions and temptations causes people to feel this sensation.

In the idea of love nowadays, it would normally result to a relationship. From being strangers to friends, a man would court a woman to move on the next stage which is the bf-gf relationship, however it is unfortunate for some relationships to not end there. Instead of growing together, they are growing apart. Relationships doesn't necessarily have to be that hard, but it is just the people involved in the relationship that makes it complicated. Misunderstandings, arguments, and fights get in the way. Most people believe that conflicts are from a negative mind which contributes a lot to dull and distrusts in a relationship. Is it really a pessimistic mind that breaks a relationship? Or is it a healthy dose of pessimism that is a key to a healthy relationship?

As I was going through different articles regarding pessimism and love, I found an article entitled Being a Pessimist is Good for your Relationship from the website www.yourtango.com. It interests me by the fact that it contradicts the prevailing counsel of marriage experts that being patient, forgiving and understanding leads to a healthier relationship. 

The author stated that optimism only pays off when a a couple's expectation translate into reality. It has always been from the start that couples expect the highest. They dream themselves of things which are far from reality. When it happens that they expect the highest, they suffer from extreme and irrational disappointments. Thus making pessimism a better approach to marriage since it is giving more likelihood to experience success and satisfaction in life, since expectations are low to begin. 

The author added that a relationship is likely to be destroyed when couples force themselves to be optimistic during a rough marriage. Being positive at times a relationship gets in the state of despair could actually worsen the marriage. Glossing out the flaws can lead to long-term problems, thus making a relationship instead of growing together, growing apart. Making this negativity in particular develop good coping responses when relationships bleak. A researcher named McNulty discovered that maintaining a negative attitude during an argument can be an effective tactic in influencing a partner to change his or her ways, thus paving the path for a stronger marriage.

On the other hand, has it ever crossed your mind for a pessimist and optimist to get along in a relationship? Isn't it so ironic? Let's take note to that.The article of Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D which is entitled When Optimist Marry Pessimists from the website Psychologytoday.com gave the readers a clear view on how it would work.

The author stated that optimists and pessimists are evident in a relationship. Since pessimists aren't that numerous., a relationship would basically include an optimist. Considering these two people, a relationship consists of two focuses: in which one tend to see their world in terms of what they may achieve, while the other see their world in terms of what they stand to lose. In other way, a optimist sees success as being about reaching the stars, while the pessimist sees success as avoiding dangers and troubles. 




Both may have different approach to life. Often times it would result to a waste of time, arguing over which person is seeing things the "right" way. Instead of fighting over these perspectives, the couple can seemingly value each other's viewpoint, appreciate their beliefs, and communicate in the perspective they see. These relationships may give a balance between optimist and pessimist. Both are necessary for living a healthy and satisfying life. 

Considering these two articles, love isn't actually that predictable afterall. It may have a different take if it involves a pessimistic mind. It doesn't necessarily mean that one should be pessimistic in relationship.  It isn't anymore such a question that negativity causes conflicts to a relationship.  It's just that this negativity isn't that bad after all. Although it may bring conflicts in a relationship. Well, at some point this conflict may fruit to a healthier relationship or marriage either. Aa British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said, "It destroys one's nerves to be amiable every day to the same human being." Taking note of what he said, it turns out that he was also right. I must say, a healthy dose of pessimism is a key to a healthier relationship too!

BLOGPOST 3: Art of Pessimism

The show "Winnie the Pooh" played a precious part in our childhood. It is very evident even to the children these days that if you ask them about "Pooh", they'll surprise to provide you more than an average fan knows. Even teenagers like me can tell loads of fun facts about the show. It is because the show left a mark in our childhood. We, youngsters of the society, can simply entertain you by the unlimited knowledge we know about the cartoon. This is how the show touched our heart.

Quoting a scene in that cartoon,

“Good morning, Pooh Bear,” said Eeyore gloomily. “If it is a good morning,” he said. “Which I doubt,” said he.
“Why, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing, Pooh Bear, nothing. We can’t all, and some of us don’t. That’s all there is to it.”

These are just some of the lines that describes a typical character from the cartoon show Winnie The Pooh, which depicts a vague, melancholic, and gloomy character in life. Yes! It's none other than Eeyore, an old stuffed grey animal, technically known as Equus asinus.

It was difficult for me to search over an article that contains Eeyore's being as being a pessimist. Fortunately, I found an article entitled "Do you have Eeyore syndrome?", however it wasnt purely about Eeyore's pessimism, but the author Derrich Tupper was able to point out proper comprehension on Eeyore's being


The author stated different facts on how Eeyore viewed life. He stated that Eeyore was too pessimistic about life that he can even take a positive situation into negative. It's like you wait for every fruit to sour. The joy of life gets stolen from you simply because you control your perspective, that is to turn everything into negative.

Also, there comes a point in our lives that we just justify our negativity. In this case, Eeyore became pessimistic in order to avoid disappointments. To some, it was thought as a wise self protection, but the author concluded that it was just a negativity disguised as wisdom. It was quite a defense mechanism, however it deprives one with the joys of life.

The author added that Eeyore's pessimism makes one to be blind to the true things in life. At some point, a pessimist exaggerates everything to think that everything's a mess when the truth is it isn't after all. This is just why pessimists have developed a self belief of impairment to the point of giving up.



On the same way as Eeyore is a fictional character, popularized by the movie, "How Grinch Stole Christmas".

"Hate, hate, hate. Hate, hate, hate. Double Hate. Loathe entirely!"

Yes! He was the one who disguised himself as Santa Claus. He was the one who tried to sabotage the Christmas by ruining decorations and by taking away presents. He is hairy, anti social, and green in complexion.

He is none other than "Grinch"

It was again unfortunate that there was just one article which is entitled "Are you a grinch or Santa Claus" that somehow defined Grinch as a pessimist.

As stated in the article, pessimism just as the Grinch is, isn't actually a birth acquired trait.  It's actually from the building of lifestyle of an individual. It is also added that pessimism is a breeding ground of envy and malice. If that is so, then this disposition is just a fruit of their experiences.

The author also added that the Grinch couldn't stomach other people’s happiness. In the movie itself, he found a way to sabotage the Christmas fest. Grinch started alienating The Who's friends and family, since not everyone is just like Max who’d stick with you even if you are pain in the ass to them. Pessimism does that in real life too, when life offers you all the joy, it is completely ironic how a pessimist try to ruin and take away other people's happiness.

"The pessimistic mind might think there’s no use changing, but remember even the Grinch had a change of heart in the end. A Grinch too can turn into a Santa Claus."

The author ended his article by telling that there is a possibility for pessimists to turn out into optimists. It just gave a reflection that every perspective leaves no permanent disposition. It is just all in the state of mind. It is just in the way of how people view their actions. There is a possibility of a pessimist to have a change of heart. There is a possibility to change the disposition in life. 

Summing up both articles, it was creative enough to have arrived at such fictional characters in which may have a better approach to the viewers. I was dumbfounded to have thought that these fictional characters were just spices to make the story interesting. Until I arrived at this research, I concluded that the use of pessimism at fictional characters was intended to catch up a special interest with the viewers.It made us exposed to this viewpoint in life. May it be for the adults who might be sympathizing the same situation, or for children who might encounter later on their adulthood. Both characters left us a lesson on how one should value pessimism. As of these characters, there were complexities in their being. It is evident that pessimism leaves us in every negativity, but like a Grinch who had a change of heart, this pessimism may turn out to be optimism too!

BLOGPOST 2: Pessimsim and Psychology

As you can see above is a glass with water. Try to ask yourself. How do you see this glass of water? Is it half empty? Or is it half full? By your answer, you can simply test your psychological perspective. If you say it's half empty, then I must say that you are a pessimist. Why? Instead of looking at it as half full, you simply look at it on the near state of emptiness. You look at it in the near state of being useless. You directly look at the downside of such image. If you are not convinced, try assessing yourself through different psychology test. Click the link to get through the site.

The truth behind the image is that there is no definite answer. It is just a piece of assessment on how you view life. But still, it affects our psychology. Pessimism influence our mind and behavior. Through psychology, we may comprehend why pessimists think and behave as they do.

As I was searching for articles about the psychology of pessimism, the articles of Clifford Lazarus perfectly caught the wave. I ended up with these articles, the first one is entitled "Be Happy -- Just Think Negative Thoughts!!" and the other is " The Virtues of Pessimism"  Both articles interest me by the fact that they were something positive about pessimism.

Tackling on the first article,Be Happy -- Just Think Negative Thoughts!!, the first question that will intrigue you is that, "Are pessimists actually happier than optimists?" That's a tricky question, I guess! 

The author started his article stating that though there is certain theory of health improvement and stress inducement optimism has. He believes that pessimism can also promote one's welfare and that, pessimism when tolerated, can be a source of protection.

He verified his statement by picturing a scenario where in a kid was too optimistic about his swimming skills that he hesitated using swimmies. Luckily, there were pessimists who grabbed him before he has laid out his life. Considering the scenario, it is often for some to become overconfident whenever they're being too positive about life. Too much optimism leaves them not to worry of life's darker side. This is just one of the instances that one may encounter in life. There may be quite a lot dangerous than just the scenario mentioned. But with these information provided, pessimists can actually save lives.

The author also added that these kind of scenarios are actually not so unusual. Lang's study revealed that too much optimism can lead future with a greater risk of disability and death in the following years. On the other hand, being pessimistic may encourage people to live more carefully, and to take health and safety precautions. A gloomy outlook in the future could be the key to longer and healthier life.

Another thing that the article added is that Pessimism can function in a paradoxical approach. It functions as if you are in the contrary to what is due. You change your perspective for a certain purpose. To explain further, picture out a person who doesn't like taking a bath, so let him be that you wont allow him taking a bath. Another is, when a girl doesn't like to cut her nails, let her be that she's not allowed to cut her nails. You let them until the initiate doing it. It works the same thing as pessimists think negatively, to keep the purpose coming. If you think that sleeping is boring and all, then so be it. You keep yourself awake until you find yourself sleeping. So if it happens that you assume negatively, you meet something which is better for you. It's kind of doing something in order to achieve the opposite result.  Hence, it keeps pessimist to a surprise if something good happens. The same thing when you're wrong, it is what you expected in the first place, anyway.

This led me to his other article, "The Virtues of Pessimism."  The article strongly promotes that  a negative outlook may be a secret to living a longer life.

The article states that "based on data from an impressive sample of 40,000 people between the ages of 18 and 96, it was discovered that for every point by which a person overestimated his or her future happiness, there was a 10% higher likelihood that that person would die or become disabled in the following decade."

Such finding yields to a light for pessimists to consider this perspective due to the discovery that overdosing optimism has a likelihood to become disabled or much worse is to die in a decade.

The article actually contradicts the prevailing study of optimists of living a longer and healthier life. It states that through pessimism, life can be prolonged. Pessimism makes one to be realistic in life. It helps people to be watchful with health. So by any chance if one's asked to try skydiving, of course optimists wouldn't hesitate to try, while pessimists would simply refuse. By simply being a pessimist, you don't simply engage in situations that's why there's lesser chance of taking risks. There is a lesser chance to take a fall.

The study gave a light for pessimists. If the stereotypes see pessimists as negative, hence there is no need to frown for pessimists. It is good that the fact paid off every misconception about pessimism. I think the author is trying to tell that those pessimists picture out accurate facts on WHAT LIES in their future while the optimists picture out happy facts that MAY BE THE LIES in their future. It made optimists become less cautious in life, leaving pessimists to extend life the more they become pessimistic. So if by any chance that a somebody ask you to smile, you simply tell that somebody you don't smile because you're a pessimist. But most likely, you're not smiling because you're going to live longer. :) 

Both articles gave way to influence us to see it in a different manner. It's not just pure as negativity, but also somehow as positivism. Pessimism was seen in a light way, not just the heavy things one can simply infer by looking. We may conclude that Pessimism is also a key to a good life. One just simply need  proper comprehension and wisdom in order to reach the good future that we desire.