Maybe defensive pessimism can be as effective as strategic optimism in over coming challenges and obstacles?

I am not sure I agree though – for it seems like a fine line to me.

Without optimism you are never going to start difficult things.

But without a dash a pessimism, you are likely to be unprepared.

Understand: Most pessimists fear action, and action has great power.

Psychologist Julie Norem studies two different strategies for handling these challenges: strategic optimism and defensive pessimism. Strategic optimists anticipate the best, staying calm and setting high expectations. Defensive pessimists expect the worst, feeling anxious and imagining all the things that can go wrong. If you’re a defensive pessimist, about a week before a big speech you convince yourself that you’re doomed to fail. And it won’t be just ordinary failure: You’ll trip on stage and then forget all your lines.

-Adam Grant, Originals