Look on the Bright Side Day

What the day is

Look on the Bright Side Day is observed on December 21, which is the winter solstice and therefore the least bright day of the northern year. The joke is presumably intentional, and there is a literal bright side to it, since every day after this one is longer.

Origin and background

The origin of the observance is not documented. What research has found about optimism is considerably more interesting than the slogan.

Optimism as a stable disposition does track well with good outcomes. People who generally expect things to work out report better wellbeing and show better physical health outcomes across large studies, including cardiovascular ones. That much supports the day.

The complication is that positive thinking on its own does the opposite. Work on mental imagery has repeatedly found that vividly imagining a desired outcome, without engaging with what stands in the way, predicts lower achievement rather than higher. The fantasy appears to deliver some of the satisfaction of the goal in advance, which drains the energy required to pursue it. What works instead is pairing the positive picture with a clear-eyed look at the obstacle and a specific plan for it.

There is also a well-documented group of people for whom forced cheerfulness is actively counterproductive. Anxious high performers often use what psychologists call defensive pessimism, deliberately setting low expectations and rehearsing everything that could go wrong, which converts anxiety into preparation. Pushed to think positively, they perform worse.

The honest version of the day's advice is therefore narrower than the slogan and more useful: expect things to work out, look squarely at what might stop them, and plan for that.

How to take part

• Name a goal, then name the obstacle, then decide what you will do when it appears.
• Notice the difference between optimism and fantasy. One plans, the other daydreams.
• Let other people be pessimistic if that is how they prepare.
• Get outside during daylight, which is scarce today and genuinely affects mood.
• Take the literal bright side: the light returns from tomorrow.