Take Optimism Test Authentichappiness.org Register online

Releasing Negativity and Embracing Optimism Parker Principle #10

General tendency to expect good outcomes Definitions Optimism Pessimism General tendency to expect good outcomes Belief that things will go wrong and wishes are unlikely to be fulfilled

Continuum Most people are somewhere on the continuum of pure optimism and pure pessimism but demonstrate stable tendencies in one direction or the other.

Optimism is beneficial to health Optimists tend to Have better immune functioning Live longer if without serious illness Deal more effectively with diagnosis of breast cancer Deal more effectively with death or onset of illness of family Do not give up at first sign of setback Not as physiologically aroused by stress (lower autonomic and HPA activation in face of chronic difficulties) (Do not live longer with cancer however) Optimists deal with stress in more adaptive ways—look at ways to overcome difficulties

Those very optimistic tend to learn only from info that reinforces their rose-colored view of the world Due to “faulty” function of frontal Lobes May be less likely to take precautionary action Don’t alter optimistic predictions when presented with conflicting information We pick and choose the information we listen to. Tali Sharot, Christoph Korn & Raymond Dolan, “How unrealistic Optimism is maintained in the face of reality”, Nature Neuroscience, October 9, 2011, ,

Pessimism Associated with untimely death More likely to engage in self-destructive behavior Excessive drinking Smoking Fail to wear seat belts Drive too fast Refuse or noncompliant with treatment for illness More likely to die in accidents or as a result of violence

Costs of Pessimism Depressed easily Lower achievement (for talent level) Worse physical health—lower immune function

When things go wrong What explanation do you give yourself?

Reframing Happy people don’t have a magic button to get them out of traffic or that mutes an impolite boss—they draw different messages or meanings from the situation. David Niven 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People

Explanation of Attributions Stable or Unstable (permanence) Global or Specific (pervasiveness)

Explanation style Optimists use Pessimists use Temporary/unstable Specific Permanent/stable Pervasive/global Personal/internal

Explanatory Style After Bad Event Optimistic: attribute setbacks to temporary situational factors Pessimistic: blame setbacks on pervasive permanent shortcomings

Life inflicts the same setbacks to optimists and pessimists But optimists weather adversity better and bounce back

Pessimists get and stay depressed when adversity strikes.

Optimism and Pessimism are innate or learned early “A word in the heart” But can be altered!

How to change

Identify your own style

Identify ABC Adversity Belief Consequences

Strategies Dispute (most effective in the long run) Distract Tell self to STOP Focus on something else instead Set a time to think the ruminative thought later Energize New feelings Productive actions

Your thoughts are not facts Your beliefs are not facts

How to argue with yourself Look at the evidence—is my statement accurate? What are alternative explanations? What are the implications? Is the belief useful?

Goal Shift blame to Temporary (less permanent) factors Find more specific (less pervasive) areas of blame “I got upset and froze when I couldn’t answer the first two questions” “I have not learned good ways to talk about chiropractic” “I didn’t have time to look at the directions”

Try this over the next week ABC Then Ds and E

Learned Optimism is not about unjustifiable positivity about the world--but through power of “non-negative” thinking.

Whether or not we have hope depends on the two dimensions of Permanence and Pervasiveness taken together. Finding permanent and universal causes of good events along with temporary and specific causes for misfortune is the art of hope finding permanent and universal causes for misfortune and temporary and specific causes of good events is the practice of despair. If your score is 10 to 16, you are extraordinarily hopeful; 6 to 9, moderately hopeful; from 1 to 5, average, from minus 5 to 0, moderately hopeless; and below minus 5, severely hopeless.

For further information Feeling Good the New Mood Therapy: the clinically proven drug-free treatment for depression.by David Burns, 1980. Learned Optimism: How to change your mind and your life. By Martin Seligman, 1990. The Optimistic Child: a proven program to safeguard children against depression and build lifelong resilience. By Martin Seligman, 1995.