A recent research study found that when it comes to money, optimists are more likely to make smart moves and reap the benefits. For example, 90% of optimists have put money aside for a major purchase, compared to 70% of pessimists. Nearly two thirds of optimists have started an emergency fund, while less than half of pessimists have. Optimists reported that they stressed about finances 145 fewer days each year as compared to pessimists. They also make more money and are more likely to be promoted. The good news is that optimism is just like a muscle, and you can build it. Start the day by practicing gratitude. This two-minute daily practice rewired elderly pessimists to become more optimistic after just two weeks. Send a two-minute email each day to someone new and different, praising or thanking them. Social connection is the greatest predictor of happiness, and it is strongly correlated with optimism. These small habits could help you take back 145 stress-free days each year, not to mention fuel your happiness and work success as well.
After controlling for wealth, income, skills, and other demographics to level the playing field, the data clearly showed that optimists were significantly more likely to experience better financial health than pessimists, and engage in healthier habits with their money. For instance, we found that 90% of optimists have put money aside for a major purchase, compared to 70% of pessimists. Nearly two thirds of optimists have started an emergency fund, while less than half of pessimists have. Additionally, optimists are more likely to seek out and follow advice from someone they trust. In my opinion, the most compelling finding was how optimists felt, reporting that they stressed about finances 145 fewer days each year as compared to pessimists.
An Optimist
A landmark study by my former research partner Dr. Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania found that optimistic sales professionals outsell their pessimistic counterparts by 56%. As a result of this study done at MetLife, the insurance giant changed its hiring practices to include a screening for optimism, which improved retention and saved the company tens of millions of dollars.
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.
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.
Optimism lets us see disappointing events as temporary situations that we can get past. It strengthens us to try again rather than give up. It allows us to keep our goals and dreams in play so we can act on the motivation to keep working toward them. Because of this, optimistic people feel more in control of their situations and have higher self-esteem.
Just about all of us go through a rough patch now and then where it can seem like nothing's working. It's healthy to identify feelings when we're discouraged, and it's OK to talk about what's wrong. Confiding in someone can lift your mood and remind you of the optimistic possibilities. Negative thinking can help you move forward, as long as you don't get stuck focusing on what's wrong.
Optimism is a thinking style that can be learned, which means that pessimism can be unlearned! It can take a little while, so don't feel discouraged. Becoming more aware of the two styles can gradually help you start noticing more ways to be optimistic. Just keep telling yourself, "I can be more optimistic and I'm going to keep practicing!"
During a recent commute to work, as my car inched along in rush-hour traffic, I watched a heron stalk the banks of the Potomac River. The majestic bird was a timely reminder that nature and beauty can be found in the unlikeliest of circumstances. And yet, even for optimists like me, it is getting harder to be hopeful about the fate of our planet.
The stakes are too high for inaction. Around the world, communities are being damaged or destroyed by rising oceans and extreme weather, while safe drinking water is fast becoming a luxury. I still believe we will navigate the threats we face, but even a climate optimist knows the sentiment may not last forever.
This article speaks to the classic view that mental health requires accurate self-perception. Using a representative British sample (N = 1,601) it finds that, as measured by two established well-being indicators, those with mistaken expectations, whether optimistic or pessimistic, do worse than realists. We index unrealistic optimism as the difference between financial expectations and financial realizations measured annually over 18 years. The effects are not small, with those holding the most pessimistic (optimistic) expectations experiencing a 21.8% (13.5%) reduction in long-run well-being. These findings may result from the decision errors and counteracting emotions associated with holding biased beliefs. For optimists, disappointment may eventually dominate the anticipatory feelings of expecting the best while for pessimists the depressing effect of expecting doom may eventually dominate the elation when the worst is avoided. Also, plans based on inaccurate beliefs are bound to deliver worse outcomes than would rational expectations.
Dispositional optimism is a personality trait associated with individuals who believe, either rightly or wrongly, that in general good things tend to happen to them more often than bad things. Using a novel longitudinal data set that tracks the job search performance of MBA students, we show that dispositional optimists experience significantly better job search outcomes than pessimists with similar skills. During the job search process, they spend less effort searching and are offered jobs more quickly. They are choosier and are more likely to be promoted than others. Although we find optimists are more charismatic and are perceived by others to be more likely to succeed, these factors alone do not explain away the findings. Most of the effect of optimism on economic outcomes stems from the part that is not readily observed by one's peers.
This all might sound incredibly lofty, but it is also true. We are in the process of reinventing identity, community and discovery, and in spite of all the suffering this crisis has caused, it also may have accelerated the process. I do not think the Zoomers will be having orgies in the streets anytime soon. But I do think there are more than a few reasons to be optimistic about our future.
Regardless of how bright you think the future actually will be, there are plenty of practical reasons to be optimistic. First, your positive perspective on the future will pay off in the present, which you are more likely to enjoy. Not only will your friends appreciate your optimistic outlook, but you will probably even be around longer to enjoy life with them more. And, if you do experience health problems, being optimistic can help you better recover.
Since it does appear possible to increase optimism, why did some studies report more success than others? Remember that Best Possible Self exercise? Well, it ended up being a better intervention method than others (such as, for example, a positive psychology technique). Other elements that played a role ranged from how optimism was assessed to when (directly following the intervention or sometime later). Although, as the authors point out, such secondary analyses should not be viewed as causal. In fact, design factors within studies can end up being confounded with each other, driven by outside variables, or exist in too few of the studies to make concrete conclusions about. For example, interventions done completely online were found to be less successful than those including some person-to-person component, but out of the twenty-nine studies only five were completely online. Yes, training can help you become more optimistic, but the type of intervention and individual fit matter.
There is still a lot to learn in the field of optimism training, such as, how long do the effects last and what might make some people more successful afterwards? But, the good news is, even if you are not typically sure the glass is half full, there is hope for developing a brighter outlook. Perhaps a first step would be to imagine a future you, a person who is more optimistic.
Optimistic, pessimistic, and their related words are all about different views of the same situation: being optimistic is seeing the glass as half full, and being pessimistic is seeing the glass as half empty.
On the other hand I think an optimist lives with hope in expectation of good things to come while a realist just excepts the reality produced through our socially interactive worlds for what it is and deals with it accordingly.
I am an optimist. I see beauty in happiness. However, I also see beauty in sadness. Sometimes I like to be sad. Sometimes I want to be in misery. However, I can have optimism even when I am in sadness and misery. Sometimes when I talk about how awful things are going for me I am being optimistic at the exact same time. I am optimistic that my emotions of sadness are beautiful and that they are healing me. I am optimistic that my sadness will eventually leave me and happiness will find me again. I am optimistic that my sadness will cause me to enjoy my happiness more.
Some people, more than others, have a consistent tendency to think, feel and behave, regarding most aspects of their lives, in a way that is unbalanced and inclined toward one of the extremes on the optimism-pessimism continuum; we call them optimists and pessimists. An optimistic person sees good things everywhere, is generally confident and hopeful of what the future holds. From the optimist's point-of-view the world is full of potential opportunities. The pessimist, on the other hand, observes mainly the negative aspects of everything around. Thinking of all the potential dangers and pitfalls on the way, the pessimist is likely to have little hope for the future. Consequently, the pessimist tends to remain passive when encountered with a challenge, believing that his efforts are futile anyway. 2ff7e9595c
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