Optimism is a wonderfully hopeful belief attitude. But it sometimes has limitations that can turn the attitude negatively. Many years ago, my wife entered my name in a Pillsbury Company promotional sweepstakes celebrating the grand opening of a local supermarket. Winning the first prize of $20,000 had a 1.4 million-to-one chance. For many years before, I had been advising my family and students about the futility of betting on sweepstakes and lotteries. But this Pillsbury prize was different; it bore no expense. All that was required was a short time in filling out a submission form.
On winning, I felt a strange but expected optimism that compelled me to try my luck with lotteries; after all, with my new emotional euphoria, I had house money to invest.
