Plus Minus

I love a website called Edge. Every year, the editors pose a question to a number of leading scientists and philosophers. This year's question is "What are you optimistic about? Why?" Some of the answers are quite intriguing, and they inspired me to ask all of you the same. The answers on Edge lean toward the scientific, but obviously we will have a much different take on the question. Specifically, I'd like to ask you what you are optimistic about with regard to your personal life.

Shortly after I read the Edge answers, I came across a great article on the power of negative thinking. In it, John Gravois argues that blindly reciting Oprah-esque mantras to oneself is dangerous, and that some forms of negative thinking, such as envisioning horrible (but plausible) events to plan a reaction, actually help people retain more control over their own lives. For example, imagining what actions you might take if that mean dog across the street were to break from his leash is probably going to help you a lot more than thinking to yourself "I'm good enough, I'm strong enough, and doggonit, people like me." What are some of the negative thinking exercises you regularly engage in that you believe help you in your daily life, or that you think might help you in a future scenario?

I'm interested to see your answers to these questions, because I've been intrigued by thought experiments lately. The gist of my question is this: how does your negative or positive thinking affect your daily life? What sorts of positive or negative thought experiments do you execute on a regular basis?