1.  Authentichappiness.org  Register online  Take Optimism Test

2.  Parker Principle #10

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

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

5.  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

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

7.  Depressed easily  Lower achievement (for talent level)  Worse physical health—lower immune function

8.  What explanation do you give yourself?

9.  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. o David Niven 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People

10.  Internal or External (personal)  Stable or Unstable (permanence)  Global or Specific (pervasiveness)

11. Optimists use  Temporary/unstable  Specific Pessimists use  Permanent/stable  Pervasive/global  Personal/internal

12.  Optimistic: attribute setbacks to temporary situational factors  Pessimistic: blame setbacks on personal shortcomings

13.  But optimists weather adversity better and bounce back

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15.  “A word in the heart”  But can be altered!

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18.  A dversity  B elief  C onsequences

19.  D ispute (most effective in the long run)  D istract o Tell self to STOP o Focus on something else instead o Set a time to think the ruminative thought later  E nergize o New feelings o Productive actions

20. Look at the evidence—is my statement accurate? What are alternative explanations? What are the implications? Is the belief useful?

21.  ABC  Then Ds and E

22.  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.