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This post isn’t for the person who wakes up each day holding a list of ideas that are going to shape the future of the world. This post isn’t for daydreamers or optimists.

Nope. This post is for people who go against the grain and think … well, a little differently.

There’s no arguing that positive thinking is a key to productivity. In fact, the results of positive thinkers speak for themselves.

But what about the people who are more … realistic? With a multitude of studies backing positive thinking as a key to being productive, is the converse true? Do pessimists get less done than their optimistic counterparts?

As it turns out, according to new research, pessimists might actually be more productive than their colleagues.

Can Optimisim Actually Hold You Back?

Research from New York University’s Gabriele Oettingen discovered that a little pessimism can improve productivity. Oettingen, who spent 20 years researching and testing her theory, found that optimism and positive fantasies didn’t help people reach their goals but instead got in the way: