#learned optimism

I may have posted this before, but... I’m finally actually READING Seligman’s “Learned Optimism” and so far it seems like a very informative, useful book.

I believe it’s common knowledge that some of us are too critical of ourselves. There are well-known sayings like “You are your own worst critic” and “Don’t believe everything you think” (a favorite saying of mine).

Still, even after you acknowledge that you’re too critical of yourself, or too pessimistic, etc., that’s sort of a vague observation. If you say to yourself, “Okay self... uh... don’t do that any more” that’s a very vague instruction.

Check out Cultivating Optimism, Day 17 in the Leap into my Leap Year blog post series. #Wellbeing

The Bright Side Optimism is not just about wishful thinking; it’s a powerful mindset that can transform how we perceive and navigate the world. On Day 17 of ‘Leap into the Leap Year‘, we delve into the psychology of cultivating optimism and discovering the silver linings even in the darkest of clouds. We look at how optimism can be learned, its links to brain chemistry and practical steps for…

What if you could learn to be optimistic! Even in the bad times?

Learned optimism is the idea that optimism is a learned behaviour (Chadwick, 2019). This idea is defined by the belief that no matter what happens, good things will continue to come and that you can learn to be happy and positive.(FightMediocrity, 2015). In FightMediocrity’s video (2015), they share how optimists differed from pessimists through explanatory styles (how something is explained/rationalized). These included: permanence (whether something happening will last forever, pervasiveness (whether an incident is isolated) and personality (whether something was personal or an external circumstance). People were more likely to be optimistic when they thought of situations as not personal, pervasive, or personal even during bad times.  

Many know Martin Seligman for his contributions on learned helplessness. Where helplessness is a learned behaviour and after multiple failures someone feels that no matter what they do they cannot break free. However, he is also known for learned optimism, and has done research that shared that when people had learned optimism they were more likely to enjoy life, not blame themselves, and achieve more. This was likely due to these people continuing their daily life feeling better overall, and to keep on learning and cultivating how to be optimistic. 

An article by Chadwick (2019) shared that when learned optimism was applied students tended to be more resilient and have a positive mindset. In addition, when strategies were used to foster learned optimism strategies, they tended to create stronger teams and better work qualities (Chadwick, 2019).

References

Chadwick, M. (2019). A reflection on harnessing learned optimism, resilience and team growth behaviour in order to support student groups. Student Success, 10(3), 104-111. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.v10i3.1410