{"id":691154,"date":"2026-04-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/?p=691154"},"modified":"2026-04-01T13:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:09:25","slug":"why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Why delusional thinking could be a tool for growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ud83d\udd2e The road<\/strong> to <\/strong>success requires self-confidence, an ironclad work ethic, book- and street-smarts, and\u2026 a little bit of delusion. <\/strong>Throughout history, the most pivotal advancements often began with a what-if. When Thomas Edison thought to bring the light bulb to life, he was called delusional \u2014 and he was, but still did it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is called delusional optimism: being \u201ccompletely unreasonable\u201d about how good something can get, according to bestselling author and mindfulness coach Case Kenny<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

The science behind delusional thinking<\/p>\n

What we tell ourselves and what we believe doesn\u2019t just reflect a present reality \u2014 but rather shapes it.<\/strong> Research from the University of Edinburgh shows<\/a> how our brains operate as engines of \u201cprobabilistic prediction,\u201d continuously generating scenarios based on prior knowledge, beliefs, and expectations, which then meet with physical sensory inputs, resulting in a conscious experience where the brain attempts to minimize the gap between what it expects to happen and what it actually feels is happening.<\/p>\n

Language, or rather what we tell ourselves, can act as a programming tool for the mind<\/strong>, creating artificial contexts that can recalibrate how certain situations are perceived. What this means is that continuous self-directed speech may create an influential form of cognitive self-manipulation, allowing the brain to artificially control perception, reasoning, and behavior, according to the study. In short: those morning self-affirmations can actually work.<\/p>\n

Delusional optimism, if we\u2019re talking science, is rooted in a phenomenon known as the <\/strong>optimism bias<\/strong>, which essentially is the tendency for us to overestimate the likelihood of positive events coming our way, and vice versa. According to a seminal 2011 study<\/a>, some 80% of the global human population exhibits this bias, making optimism an integral \u2014 and advantageous \u2014 part of being human. <\/p>\n

\n

How delulu<\/strong> wires us differently<\/p>\n

When highly optimistic individuals are faced with negative information, the brain fails to code the information that would require them to tone it down<\/strong>, according to the study. On the other hand, when engaging in positive affirmations and modes of thinking or receiving positive information confirming one\u2019s own optimistic beliefs, the amygdala shows increased activity. <\/p>\n

When you\u2019re always expecting positive outcomes, you experience less stress and anxiety<\/strong>, giving your immune system a helping hand. In fact, being optimistic may add a few years to your lifespan<\/a> too. If we\u2019re talking about delusional optimism in a workplace setting, optimists tend to see value in their work, leading them to work harder, longer, or even more efficiently, producing desirable results that ultimately see them climbing the corporate ladder. <\/p>\n

By believing something incredibly positive is possible<\/strong>, we\u2019re inspired to take the necessary steps to reach it, according to Vox<\/a>. This actively improves the chances of achieving the desired positive results. A self-fulfilling prophecy, essentially \u2014 the good kind.<\/p>\n

\n

The sweet spot<\/p>\n

While a little delusion may go a long way, too much of it can lead to navigating an entirely different plane untethered from reality. <\/strong>If your brain is consistently disregarding negative signals, underestimating \u2014 or even ignoring \u2014 risk, it\u2019s very likely that you\u2019ll find yourself taking everything for granted in the hopes of it \u201cworking out.\u201d Leaning too much on delusional optimism can also lead to glossing over failures and ignoring feedback. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s safer to stay optimistic, but keep it real. <\/strong>The sweet spot seems to be what Vox calls optimistic realism \u2014 getting the most benefits out of having a positive outlook, without being all too delusional. After all, too much optimism is what led to the 2008 financial crisis<\/a>. <\/p>\n

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links <\/strong>to our background as well as external sources.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What we tell ourselves, and what we believe, doesn\u2019t just reflect a present reality \u2014 but rather shapes it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":691155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7215],"tags":[633,638,1546,1120,8360],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-691154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-your-commute","tag-enterprisepm","tag-for-your-commute","tag-lifestyle","tag-office-life","tag-psychology","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"55aa4864-dc3e-422c-aca2-7b4ce74de7f6","order":"3","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"How a little delusion may be the solution","related_issue":[691149],"teaser":"What we tell ourselves, and what we believe, doesn\u2019t just reflect a present reality \u2014 but rather shapes it"},"yoast_head":"\nWhy delusional thinking could be a tool for growth - EnterpriseAM Egypt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why delusional thinking could be a tool for growth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What we tell ourselves, and what we believe, doesn\u2019t just reflect a present reality \u2014 but rather shapes it\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EnterpriseAM Egypt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-01T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-01T13:09:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"enterpriseam admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"enterpriseam admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"enterpriseam admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d\"},\"headline\":\"Why delusional thinking could be a tool for growth\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-01T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-01T13:09:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/\"},\"wordCount\":616,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"EnterprisePM\",\"FOR YOUR COMMUTE\",\"lifestyle\",\"office life\",\"psychology\"],\"articleSection\":[\"FOR YOUR COMMUTE\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/\",\"name\":\"Why delusional thinking could be a tool for growth - EnterpriseAM Egypt\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-01T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-01T13:09:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why delusional thinking could be a tool for growth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/\",\"name\":\"EnterpriseAM\",\"description\":\"The State of the Nation\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#organization\",\"name\":\"EnterpriseAM\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/240894.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/240894.svg\",\"caption\":\"EnterpriseAM\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d\",\"name\":\"enterpriseam admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/enterpriseam.testing.projectsarea.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/author\/enterpriseam\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why delusional thinking could be a tool for growth - EnterpriseAM Egypt","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why delusional thinking could be a tool for growth","og_description":"What we tell ourselves, and what we believe, doesn\u2019t just reflect a present reality \u2014 but rather shapes it","og_url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/","og_site_name":"EnterpriseAM Egypt","article_published_time":"2026-04-01T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-01T13:09:25+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"enterpriseam admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"enterpriseam admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/"},"author":{"name":"enterpriseam admin","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d"},"headline":"Why delusional thinking could be a tool for growth","datePublished":"2026-04-01T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-01T13:09:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/"},"wordCount":616,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","keywords":["EnterprisePM","FOR YOUR COMMUTE","lifestyle","office life","psychology"],"articleSection":["FOR YOUR COMMUTE"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/","name":"Why delusional thinking could be a tool for growth - EnterpriseAM Egypt","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-04-01T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-01T13:09:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/04\/01\/why-delusional-thinking-could-be-a-tool-for-growth\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why delusional thinking could be a tool for growth"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#website","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/","name":"EnterpriseAM","description":"The State of the Nation","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#organization","name":"EnterpriseAM","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/240894.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/240894.svg","caption":"EnterpriseAM"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d","name":"enterpriseam admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/enterpriseam.testing.projectsarea.com"],"url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/author\/enterpriseam\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"enterpriseam admin","author_link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/author\/enterpriseam\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/44.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=691154"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":691178,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691154\/revisions\/691178"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/afternoon\/691149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/691155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=691154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=691154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=691154"},{"taxonomy":"brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/brand?post=691154"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=691154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}