Martin Seligman on why lawyers aren't optimists

I saw psychologist Martin Seligman speak today.

He observed that lawyers were generally pessimists.
Why? He said that negative emotions were associated with the law as it was a zero sum game:there are no winners. Positive emotion is associated with win/win scenarios.

He said there are 3 problems with modern lawyers:

1. Lawyers are selected for their pessimism. Lawyers have to be "prudent" and risk averse in situations where a loss could be catastrophic.They are able to think of any conceivable catastrophe.
2. Lawyers who aren't partners are pessimistic as a result of low decision making powers as well as high pressure from work.
3. Lawyers fail to use their key strengths: grinding documents can create pessimism in a lawyer with good social skills.

He also observed generally that it's easier to be creative in an atmosphere which is relaxed. In an atmosphere where the question is always "what's wrong" and focussed on correcting errors, feelings are likely to be negative.

Links: authentic happiness (find out your signature strengths), reflective happiness (take the happiness test)

UPDATE: Online journal The Submission has an article called Less Marble Tiles … More Happy Smiles- Saving The Practice Of Law by James McConvill and Richard Edney. They discuss Seligman's ideas in a lot more detail and consider Seligman's solutions. They also point to an article by Seligman on Why Lawyers are Unhappy in a special edition of the Deakin Law Review called Law and the Pursuit of Happiness: The Next Movement.