deepstash
Beta
Learned Optimism: Is Martin Seligman’s Glass Half Full?
Learned Optimism in Psychology
This is a concept that suggests that we can always change our attitude and behaviour, be aware of our thoughts and stop our negative self-talk.
Learned Optimism is a positive psychology concept, and is the opposite of Learned Helplessness, which states delves into people who believe they are incapable of changing their circumstances after repeated exposure to stressful and negative events.
358 SAVES
This is a professional note extracted from an online article.
Read more efficiently
Save what inspires you
Remember anything
IDEA EXTRACTED FROM:
9
Key Ideas
Pessimism Vs Optimism
Pessimism is defined as the anticipation of good or bad things to happen in the future, while optimism is generally considered the opposite. Optimism can be defined as the individual difference variable reflecting the extent of which we hold positive expectancies for the upcoming event.
The ways in which we think affects our health, well-being and success, even though the situations are the same.
Benefits of Optimism
- A positive impact on many aspects of physical and mental health.
- Provides motivation to work harder.
- Greater career success in life.
Teaching And Learning Optimism
Interestingly, life provides the same problems, tragedies and setbacks on both an optimist and a pessimist, but the optimist is able to weather them better and live a happy, successful life. It is possible to learn and teach optimism and change one’s perception of life.
Causes Of Pessimism
People tend to see things differently, and this affects their perception. Our selective attention can see things in contrasting ways and also form different opinions based on what information is processed.
Locus Of Control
We all have either an internal or an external locus of control. This cognitive mechanism provides us with confidence that we can change the elements of our lives.
Having the locus of control on the outside makes it subject to every twist and turn of our lives, making us feel helpless.
Our Attributional Styles
- Pessimists take everything personally, leading to any kind of failure hurting their self-esteem.
- Optimists attribute failure to external, localized circumstances and keep their self-esteem and positivity intact.
The Three P’s
The three cognitive distortions (3P’s) that need to be changed:
- Personalization: Optimists tend to externalize any failure, rather than taking it personally or blaming themselves.
- Pervasiveness: While pessimists tend to close the doors after facing a setback, optimists see negative events as temporary and bounce back.
- Permanence: A negative situation is often viewed as lasting or unchangeable by pessimists while optimists understand that things are flexible, and changeable.
The ABC Technique
Albert Ellis’ ABC technique refers to: Adversity, Beliefs and Consequences.
- _Adversity is the problem in hand, and your Belief is how you explain that problem to yourself.
- The Three P’s come into play while you encounter something (I lost my job) and how you explain that (I am unworthy!).
- If you think you are never going to get any other job again and will starve to death, that is the point that you need to change (Going from A to B).
- The consequences are what you get, based on how your self-talk._
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
3
Key Ideas
Elements of well-being
Well-being can be broken into five elements:
- Positive emotion
- Engagement
- Relationships
- Meaning
- Accomplishment
If you improve ...
Wired for pessimism
Pessimism comes naturally to people because thinking about the bad stuff that could happen helps us to prepare for survival.
The problem is that pessimists think bad events are permanent and unchangeable. "I think my interview is going to be a disaster." We need to learn to recognize what we're saying to ourselves and then argue against it. "I've done many interviews in my life, and they generally turn out well."
The need for hope
Meditation - mindfulness, focusing on the moment - is an excellent anti-anxiety, anti-anger tool..But accepting suffering and finding contentment in that means you can't move into doing something good in the future.
One important idea is hope. Positive human future doesn't come about by accident - it needs hopeful people who plan for it and make it happen.
5
Key Ideas
Pessimism vs optimism
While we may have many good reasons to be pessimistic, we don't have to resign ourselves to it forever.
Optimism can be learned. Research reveals that optimists earn more money, have b...
Visualize your best possible self
Studies show that imagining your ideal future can increase your levels of optimism. Focusing on your dreams coming true turn your focus away from worrying about the worst possible outcome.
Imagine your ideal life in 10 years - what it would look like and how you would feel. Spend time considering family, career, romance or health. Now write it down once a week for the next two months.
Accept disappointment
When we expect the worst, we might be trying to protect ourselves from disappointment.
Disappointments are inevitable. We might as well have positive expectations that are occasionally proven wrong than negative expectations that are sometimes proven right.
2 more ideas
2
Key Ideas
Burnout is not the same as tired
Burnout is job-induced depression.
When you suffer from burnout,
- you become chronically exhausted;
- you become cynical and detached from...
3 Secrets to avoid burnout
- Be Optimistic. Confronted by a bad situation, optimists perceive it as a challenge and try harder.
- Find Meaning In What You Do. When you find true meaning in your work — when it’s not a job, it’s a calling — you don’t burn out.
Double Down On Relationships. Those who increase their social activity when things get hard handles stress the best.