What makes people more optimistic

While you might tend to have either an optimistic or pessimistic explanatory style, there are things that you can do the help cultivate a more optimistic attitude. These include:. It is also possible to develop learned optimism. Pessimists can essentially learn to be optimists by thinking about their reactions to adversity in a new way and consciously challenge negative self-talk.

Using a practice called cognitive restructuring , you can help yourself and others become more optimistic by consciously challenging negative, self-limiting thinking and replacing it with more optimistic thought patterns. The process of cognitive restructuring involves a few different steps:. There has been a great deal of research on optimists and pessimists. Research has shown that an optimistic worldview carries certain advantages. Psychologist Martin Seligman, the founding father of positive psychology , analyzed sports teams and found that the more optimistic teams created more positive synergy and performed better than the pessimistic ones.

People with optimistic attitudes are more likely to continue working toward their goals, even in the face of obstacles, challenges, and setbacks. Such persistence ultimately means that they are more likely to accomplish their goals. Research suggests that cognitive therapy which involves reframing a person's thought processes can be as effective or more effective than antidepressant medications in the treatment of clinical depression.

People who have this training in optimism appear to become better able to effectively handle future setbacks. In a retrospective study of 34 healthy Hall of Fame baseball players who played between and , optimists lived significantly longer. Other studies have shown that optimistic breast cancer patients had a better quality of life than pessimistic and hopeless patients.

Optimists also tend to experience less stress than pessimists or realists. Because they believe in themselves and their abilities, they expect good things to happen. They see negative events as minor setbacks to be easily overcome and view positive events as evidence of further good things to come.

Believing in themselves, they also take more risks and create more positive events in their lives. Research shows that optimists are more proactive with stress management. They tend to favor approaches that reduce or eliminate stressors and their emotional consequences. Because optimists work harder at stress management, they are less stressed. Optimism is generally a positive characteristic that confers a number of physical and mental health benefits.

But this does not mean that is doesn't have a few potential pitfalls. Some ways that optimism can be detrimental include:. Optimists can avoid some of these pitfalls by focusing on maintaining a healthy, realistic approach to positivity.

Rather than focusing only on "staying positive" and ignoring other emotions, the goal should be to try to look on the bright side while still acknowledging the difficulties of the situation. Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Clin Psychol Rev. Dispositional optimism. Trends Cogn Sci. Expressive writing: Improving optimism, purpose, and resilience writing and gratitude. Innov Aging. Online positive affect journaling in the improvement of mental distress and well-being in general medical patients with elevated anxiety symptoms: A preliminary randomized controlled trial.

Optimism and its impact on mental and physical well-being. Although gratitude can be expressed in numerous ways, it involves a focus on the present moment, on appreciating life as it is today, and on what has made it that way.

Gratitude helps us savor positive life experiences, boosts our confidence, helps us cope with stress, leads us to help others, strengthens our relationships, and lessens our tendency to compare ourselves with others Lyubomirsky, Regardless of which idea you decide to try, the most important thing is to be consistent.

Spending a couple minutes right before you go to bed or right after you wake up might work well. If not, find a time that fits better with your schedule, but be consistent. As you continue to record your gratitude on a consistent basis, it will become a habit.

You will find yourself thinking about what you are grateful for throughout the day. If your efforts to be more grateful become mundane and therefore lack meaning, try changing up how you express gratitude or try doing it once a week instead of each day in order to keep it special Lyubomirsky, There are many ways to help yourself feel more optimistic when things are looking bleak. Try some of the ideas above to see what works best for you. Remember to be consistent. As you become more positive, you will feel happier and your relationships with others will benefit as well.

Optimism may not be a strength for you right now, but with practice, thinking optimistically will become more natural. It is about choosing to see the good in the world around you and working to bring about a bright future. Finding Peace by Staying Present It is easy to get caught up in the events of the past or the future. However, doing so only brings worry and causes you to miss out on the present. On the other hand, mindfulness—or focusing on the present moment—leads to better health, lower anxiety, and.

Everyone feels stress daily in multiple ways. Relationships, work, holidays, tragedy, special events, school, housework, and traffic are just some of the many stressors we experience at some point. Stressors may not always be easy to identify, but they ar. Life is full of challenges and most of us will experience occasional periods of sadness.

However, prolonged sadness coupled with other symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, feelings of guilt, loss of interest in things that used to produce pleasure,. Regardless of your fame, fortune, or abilities, life is filled with difficulties.

You get to choose how you will react to those difficulties though. Learning to deal with them in healthy, productive ways results in personal growth and peace of mind. Regardless of your background, socioeconomic status, education, or talents, you will inevitably experience stress as a normal part of life. However, when the stress turns into persistent anxiety, it is important to get extra help.

So what is the differenc. For centuries philosophers and scholars have studied what makes people happy. Today, we know more about happiness than ever before. For example, one consistent finding is that happy people enjoy healthy relationships with others Vaillant, It turns. From daily hassles to serious tragedies, everyone experiences stress; it is a part of the human experience. High levels of stress over time can take a toll on our bodies. Research shows that chronic stress can affect our sleep, mood, minds, and body, incl.

Stress is a universally experienced phenomenon. Although there are myriad causes, the methods of effectively managing stress are generally the same. Why do these strategies work though? This fact sheet addresses this question, citing what research has fou. Utah State University sites use cookies. By continuing to use this site you accept our privacy and cookie policy. I agree.

Relationships Open main menu. Close Open search. Close Additional Resources. Close Quick Links. Six Approaches to Becoming More Optimistic Today With the negativity in the world around us, we could each use a little more positivity and optimism in our lives. Imagining the Future and Working to Achieve It Imagining a bright future and setting goals to make that future a reality is one way to increase your personal level of optimism. The following steps Lyubomirsky, may be a useful outline to follow: Ponder — Think about what you expect your life to be like 1, 5, and 10 years from now.

Imagine — Visualize a future for yourself in which everything has turned out the way you would have wanted. Record — Write down what your visualized future looks like. Include the long-term goals that you want to achieve. Set goals — Break these long-term goals into sub-goals. How will you create this future?

Before you keep reading, take a moment to think about some of the things that happened to you today. Even better, grab a pen and write down a few specific events. So what did you come up with? Was it mostly positive stuff like: "My day's going great! My grandmother made me pancakes for breakfast. I sat with my friends at lunch, and I actually enjoyed English class today!

My friends wasted the entire lunch period gossiping about a boring TV show, and I had English class today.

I hate Thursdays! Researchers have spent a lot of time studying people who think positively. It turns out that an optimistic attitude helps us be happier, more successful, and healthier.

Optimism can protect against depression — even for people who are at risk for it. An optimistic outlook makes people more resistant to stress. Optimism may even help people live longer. The best thing about optimism is you can learn it, even if your outlook tends to be more pessimistic. Optimism and pessimism are mindsets — ways of thinking and seeing things. Optimists see the positive side of things. They expect things to turn out well.

They believe they have the skill and ability to make good things happen. You've probably heard people who tend to see the faults in everything called "pessimists.

People aren't always optimistic or always pessimistic, but most people tend to lean toward one of these thinking patterns. The good news is, if you tend to be more pessimistic, you're not destined to always think that way. We can all become more optimistic by adjusting the way we see things. Optimism goes beyond seeing the bright side of a situation or expecting good things. It's also a way of explaining what has already happened. When something good happens, optimists think about what they did to make the situation turn out so well.

They see their abilities as permanent, stable parts of themselves. They think of how this good thing can lead to other good things. When things don't go as expected, it's the reverse: Optimists don't blame themselves. They see setbacks as temporary. When something goes wrong, optimists link it to a specific situation or event, not their capabilities.

Because they don't view setbacks as personal failings, optimists are able to bounce back from disappointment better than pessimists. Here's an example: Griffin and Jake both try out for the basketball team during sophomore year. Neither makes the final cut.

Both feel disappointed, but they handle it differently. Griffin is an optimist. He thinks: "There was a lot of talent at the tryouts and only a few openings. That pushed me to practice hard and I played my best — it felt good!