You, Too, can be an Optimist

 

(Nicole Nathern)

 

"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." - Dalai Lama

(Nicole Nathern)

 

                         One cold Monday morning, two men woke up at 4 A.M. to put in an early shift at work. The first man, Mark, shutters at the sound of his alarm, wonders why he ever took the job in the first place, and begrudgingly hits the snooze button while secretly hoping the second alarm never goes off. Meanwhile, Bob, Mark's neighbor, sleepily turns off his alarm and sits up in bed; he's still tired from the late night before, but is excited to be earning extra hours because he wants to save money for a vacation. While Mark continues to put off getting out of bed, Bob gets up on schedule and makes a big, healthy breakfast. Feeling confident and lighthearted, he leaves a little early for work expecting to have a good day. As Bob is leaving, Mark is rushing to get ready; he skips breakfast, leaves late, and is already convinced that it was going to be another, awful Monday.

                         Some people may be lucky enough to relate to Bob's positive attitude, but many others are hitting the snooze button and hiding under the sheets with Mark. So what's Bob's secret? Are some people naturally gifted with the optimist gene? Am I doomed to be followed by little black rain clouds? The answer is yes and no. There is a whole spectrum for a person to fall on in terms of optimism; some naturally land on the more positive side, while others on the more negative. This set point is influenced by factors ranging from one's culture, home life, spirituality, financial status, and many others. However, what if there was a way to reset the set point? This brings us to our Wiki topic, Learned Optimism. Learned Optimism is defined as the challenging of negative thoughts, and is related to serendipity, the ability to create happiness from within. Through practice and perseverance, one can literally retrain the brain to think more optimistically, and begin to cultivate joy in places there was none. This Wiki page is dedicated to positive psychology, the research behind it, and the application of learned optimism with the hopes of giving our readers the knowledge and tools to transform their mindset and become their own source of happiness. The following sources provide background information, research that both supports and negates the practice, as well as how to begin the transformation.

(Shandall Yazzie & Nicole Nathern)

 

 

Webpages About Learned Optimism

 

Martin Seligman: Psychologist

Published by TED.com, this website offers a brief biography on the father of learned optimism, Martin Seligman. Seligman's earlier research focused on learned helplessness, but in 2000 he founded the field of positive psychology, and has since then devoted himself to the study of happiness and all its inter-workings.

 

Martin Seligman. (n.d.). TED: Ideas worth spreading. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://www.ted.com/speakers/martin_seligman

(Nicole Nathern)

 

Learned Optimism

This webpage offers a brief overview of Seligman's book, in which he introduces the concept of positive psychology, how it can be applied to everyday life, and how it works.

 

Learned Optimism. (n.d.). Learned Optimism. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://www.shearonforschools.com/learned_optimism.htm

 (Nicole Nathern)

 

Thought Medicine

 This webpage features amazing stories in which people overcome unlikely odds with the power of positive thinking.

 

 (Nicole Nathern)

 

 

Books About Learned Optimism

 

 

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

This book explores numerous case studies, experiments, and historical figures that knew the power of positive psychology.

(Nicole Nathern) 

 

 Learned Optimism; How to Change Your Mind and Your Life

 Dr. Martin Seligman, founder of the Positive Psychology movement, discusses the kinds of happiness and sadness, and how they are affected by our thought processes. He continues by discussing strategies for transitioning to a more positive state of mind, as well as how to avoid falling back into old habits.

 

 

 

(Nicole Nathern)

 

Happiness: Essential Mindful Practices 

This book talks about what it means to be happy, as well as what it takes to get there. It discusses useful strategies for everyday life, as well as practices for accelerating progress. 

 

 

 

(Nicole Nathern)

 

 

Journals About Learned Optimism 

     

Optimism and

  immunity: Do positive thoughts always lead to positive effects?

This journal studies the effects of "dispositional optimism" on health and immunity.

 

 

(Nicole Nathern)

 

 Optimism and Physical Health: A Meta-analytic Review

This journal explores how optimism impacts health.

 

 

(Nicole Nathern)

 

A Critique of Positive Psychology—

or ‘The New Science of Happiness’

 

This journal takes a critical look at the field of positive psychology, and offers some insight as to whether is more than glamorized self-help.

 

 

(Nicole Nathern)

 

Mindfulness and Positive Thinking Optimism

This journal talks about how Optimism has been associated with gratitude and how optimism has a positive effect on your body, mind and personality of a person.

 

(Shandall Yazzie)

 

 

Videos About Learned Optimism

 

Tali Sharot: The Optimism Bias

 

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In this short TED Talks video, Tali Sharot discusses recent research that suggests the human brain is hard wired to think positively, and that anyone has the capacity to be an optimist. (Nicole Nathern )

 

Intervention: Learned Optimism

In this video,  Martin's Seligman's Learn Optimism used in an intervention for a depress elderly man patient named Sigmund Freud. How Learned Optimism can help people, basically.

(Shandall Yazzie)

 

How to Feel Happy

Leo from Actualized.org, discusses easy tricks and strategies for feeling happier. 

(Nicole Nathern)

 

Mindset Mastery

In Mindset Mastery, they discuss how Learned Optimism can change your mind, thoughts and overall Your Life.

(Shandall Yazzie)

 

 

Original Artwork

 

Remember to Smile

This picture was done in water color and colored pencil; it reminds to smile even when I'm down, because life is too short to be sad all the time.

(Nicole Nathern)

 

Transformational Practice Journal Reflections

 

 

 Learned Optimism

            Learned Optimism was my first transformational practice.  From the beginning I knew it was a good choice.  I benefited greatly from the practice and have learned to maintain a level of awareness surrounding my optimistic levels in everyday actions.  In the past, when I attempted to learn a transformational change, I often never made it passed the initial stages and/or make it to a maintenance stage.  Fortunately, this course has allowed me to consistently participate in the transformational practice.  Only continuing practice allowed me to break through the acquiring stage and begin to actually use it as a maintenance tool to build awareness around tendencies.  I feel reaching maintenance is the disputing stage of Dr. Martin Seligman’s ABCDE model.  It isn't until this point that we can begin to make change and see it.  You have to learn the skill first to implement change.  Simply trying or experimenting with a transformational change doesn't allow enough time to experience change. 

            Learned optimism can address a lot of negative dispositions in an individual.  On a professional level, clients seeking a transformational change often suffer from self-destructive and/or self-defeating attitudes.  Learned optimism seems like an obvious remedy simply from the title alone, “optimism”.  What learned optimism allows is for individuals to not simply deny the problems or negative elements in one’s life, but to acknowledge and process them.  Processing often results in turning negative things into empowering elements.  Learned optimism allows people, who are self-defeating to recognize adversity, discover the beliefs behind it, understand the consequences from this, and finally dispute the old routine and actualize the new, healthier belief.  Daily journaling during occasions of “mood shifts” are particularly helpful in fulfilling this process.  I would have clients began to journal whenever they noticed they had mood shifts.  This builds up the initial awareness that is needed to begin making changes.  Another option would be for people to take an ASQ (Attributional Style Questionnaire) that asks a battery of questions to help you discover where you land on the optimistic-pessimistic continuum.  Below is a link to direct you to Dr. Seligman’s ASQ

 

http://www.stanford.edu/class/msande271/onlinetools/LearnedOpt.html

 

            Personal applications that have worked for me was journaling about mood shifts and going back to them later to process the beliefs & routines that show themselves with deeper investigation.  Once they are discovered, awareness around these instances is heightened during future dealings.  I also suggest confiding with someone close to you that isn't afraid to tell you how it is and doesn't just tell you what you want to hear.  Verbal discussion eliminates the tendency for us to avoid or deny certain problems and can begin to build support between you and the listener. 

 

 

I have learned that learned optimism is mainly about learning to acknowledge and take responsibility for your decisions and outlooks.  The goal is to not look at yourself as a victim.  Things aren't set in stone, so be proactive in taking action to realize this. (Ian Whalen)

 

Summary of Practice Reflection: 

Learned Optimism (Becky Russell): My overall experience with this practice was extremely positive. This practice helped me get through one of the most stressful times of the year when everyone on the swim team is wired and on edge. During this time, my practice of learned optimism helped me get through the last weeks of practice and our championship swim meet. The easiest part of this practice was telling other people something positive and identifying when my thoughts were being negative. The most difficult part was actively switching my thoughts from negative to positive after I’d identified them. Spreading optimism to others and observing how my own thoughts shifted throughout the practice was the most meaningful part. Positivity towards others begins within ourselves, so if we are not positive to ourselves how can we hope to truly spread optimism to others? I had good days and bad days within the practice. Some days I successfully turned my negative mindset around and felt lighter. Other days it was a continuous battle throughout the day to be optimistic. As a result of this practice, I now realize how much I can truly accomplish if I take the time to evaluate and adjust my mindset from pessimistic to optimistic. Any day or situation can always become more positive if I just take the time to switch my perspective and see it that way. Two personal applications for learned optimism can be done to help change your mindset about a task you have to accomplish whether it is physical or mental like schoolwork or practice Learned optimism can also be applied to friendships when someone is having a bad day and lashes out at you. Two professional applications for learned optimism can be used for business relationships as well as a course for Employee Wellness office to offer to their employees. This course can also enumerate how being more optimistic can positively affect health too.

1.   

Learned Optimism has taught how to approach life in a whole new way. Before practicing learned optimism, I thought I was a relatively positive (optimistic) person, but I have learned so many ways to approach life and its’ particular circumstances more optimistically. 2 Professional examples of practicing learned optimism could be viewing setbacks as minor, temporary, and changeable. Another example could be expecting positive results to happen, not hoping. 2 ways that I have practiced optimism is viewing my future after college as an opportunity rather than an unknown, and looking at my struggles as a way to improve rather than dwell and make excuses on them.  More than anything, learned optimism is an important transformational change practice because the world is always changing, thus change happens, and how you view these changes can make such a difference in someone’s health. (Hayden Kessler)