OPTIMISM is a Happiness Magnet
OPTIMISM is a Happiness Magnet. If you stay POSITIVE, Good things & Good people will be drawn to you. - Mary Lou Retton
Optimism is hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something. It is a mental attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable.
Researchers have found that an optimistic worldview carries advantages such as Superior Health, Greater Achievement, Persistence, Emotional Health, Increased Longevity & Less Stress.
Pessimism, on the other hand, is much more common; pessimists are more likely to give up in the face of adversity or to suffer from depression.
The good news is that you can learn & improve your optimism. Learned optimism is the idea in positive psychology that a talent for joy, like any other, can be cultivated.
Seligman's process of learning optimism consists of a simple method to train a new way of responding to adversity.
It begins with the Ellis ABC model of Adversity, Belief, and Consequence.
This is demonstrated in the example below:
# Adversity - is the event that happens: Someone cuts you off in traffic.
# Belief - is how that adversity is interpreted: You think, "I can't believe that idiot was so rude and selfish!"
# Consequence - are the feelings and actions that result from the beliefs: You are overcome with anger, yelling profanity at the other driver.
To the ABC model, Seligman adds "D" (disputation) and "E" (energization).
# Disputation - centers on generating counter-evidence (to negative beliefs, the causes of the event, or the implications.) or reminding oneself of any potential usefulness of moving on from the adversity: "I am overreacting. I don't know what situation he is in. Maybe he is on his way to his daughter's piano recital and is running late. I'm sure I have cut people off before without meaning to, so I should really cut him a break. I am not in a hurry anyway."
Over time, responses like this are predicted to change feelings to be more hopeful and positive. Successful disputation leads to energization, the E in the ABCDE model.
# Energization: One is energized, and should indeed try to actively celebrate, the positive feelings and sense of accomplishment that come from successful disputation of negative beliefs.
Teaching children learned optimism by guiding them through the ABCDE techniques can help children to better deal with adversity they encounter in their lives.
In the end, like everything else in life, you need balance. Just balance your optimism with realism so that you don't become delusional and end up hurting yourself by ignoring the obvious pitfalls on your way.
Wishing you more happiness every day.
Puneet Dhingra,
Happiness Life Coach.
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