Optimism

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The half a glass of water helps illustrates of two different mental attitudes, optimism (half full) and pessimism (half empty)

Optimism is the practice of looking on the bright side of things, much as the little heroine of Pollyanna was trained by her father, a missionary, to make a game of finding something to be glad about in all circumstances.

The term is often used as meaning someone who looks for the positive side of a situation and anticipates the most positive outcome of a venture.

An optimist is one who looks at a glass of water that is half-full and half-empty, and focuses on how it is half-full. A pessimist focuses on how it is half-empty.

French author Voltaire mocked the concept in his novel Candide (1759), ridiculing Leibniz's notion that this is the best of all possible worlds.

An old Russian joke says a pessimist believes that things cannot possibly get worse while an optimist is confident that they surely can.

How to be more optimistic

According to the Mayo Clinic, "Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst."[1]

To cultivate more optimism:[2]

1. Focus on gratitude

2. Practice positive thinking

3. Practice positive self-talk

4. Imagine a bright future and set achievable goals. Make sure to break down those goals into smaller goals/tasks. See: Goal setting and Ideation and Brainstorming and Imagination

5. Celebrate your successes and create rewards for meeting goals. See: Motivation and Self-motivation

6. Boost your productivity

7. Surround yourself with a positive environment and individuals. See: Social influence and Social intelligence and Social networking and Business networking

8. Practice creative problem solving, yet acknowledging what's beyond your control. See: Problem solving and Creativity and Locus of control and Mental toughness and Psychological resilience and Antifragility

9. Practicing mindfulness.

10. Develop passion and develop new interests

11. Don't be too hard on yourself. See: Perfectionism and Negative thinking

12. Have an action orientation so you see success as soon as possible.

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Christian theology and optimism/human flourishing

See also: Gottfried Leibniz and Theodicy and Problem of evil

God created the best of all possible worlds

Christian theologians commonly declare that the world was the best of all possible worlds, as it was created by God. Therefore, even what appears to many as bad is actually part of God's perfect plan. For example, adversity improves Christian character/virtue.

Gottfried Leibniz

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716) was a German, Christian philosopher who was born into a pious Lutheran family close to the end of the Thirty Years’ War, which had laid Germany in ruins.[3]

Encyclopedia Britannica's article Best of all possible worlds states:

“ Best of all possible worlds, in the philosophy of the early modern philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), the thesis that the existing world is the best world that God could have created.

Leibniz’s argument for the doctrine of the best of all possible worlds, now commonly called Leibnizian optimism, is presented in its fullest form in his work Théodicée (1710; Theodicy), which was devoted to defending the justness of God..

In rough outline, the argument proceeds as follows:

1. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent;

2. God created the existing world;

3. God could have created a different world or none at all (i.e., there are other possible worlds);

4. Because God is omnipotent and omniscient, he knew which possible world was the best and was able to create it, and, because he is omnibenevolent, he chose to create that world;

5. Therefore, the existing world, the one that God created, is the best of all possible worlds.[4]

”

Biblical theology and Bible verses related to human flourishing

See also: Bible reading and human flourishing

Saint Augustine

The article Is the Pursuit of Human Flourishing Scriptural? states:

“ ...Dr. Jonathan Pennington offers a comprehensive definition of human flourishing which spans the Old and New Testaments and is rooted in the revelation of God through Jesus Christ.

Specifically, he uses Biblical etymology to demonstrate flourishing intertwines with fundamental elements of the Bible’s message–including God’s redemptive purpose in Christ (which assures believers of eternal, abundant life)...

Saint Augustine underscored the intimate relationship between human flourishing and a trinitarian God. It was contingent on centering one’s life around God, with happiness emanating from harmonious fellowship with Him and others.[5]

”

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Bible verses related to human flourishing

Learned optimism

“Every dark cloud has a silver lining” is an idiom that points out there is always something positive to find in any situation - even when it seems very difficult. It encourages individuals to look for the good in all situations.

See also: Learned optimism and Positive thinking

In the field of psychology: "Learned optimism involves developing the ability to view the world from a positive point of view. It is often contrasted with learned helplessness."[6] Learned optimism is a term coined by psychologist Martin Seligman in his book Learned Optimism which conveys the notion that optimism and joy can be cultivated.[7]

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The link between optimism and happiness/hope. The link between happiness and success

The smiley, often called a Smiley face, is a symbol often used to express happiness.

See also: Happiness

Research indicates that there is a link between optimism and happiness/hope.[8][9][10][11] In addition, research also indicates that happiness is more apt to lead to success in one's endeavors.[12]

Optimistic salespeople have higher sales and company retention rates

See also: Sales

The Hoffeld Group indicates:

"University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman conducted some interesting research, which was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, on how optimism and pessimism impacts the performance of sales people.
Seligman gave sales people a psychological assessment that measured their level of optimism. Then he evaluated those sales people’s performance over a two year period. The findings were that those sales people who scored high on optimism sold 37% more than their more pessimistic counterparts. What’s more, the sales people who tested in the top tier in optimism had sales production that was 88% higher than those who had scored high in pessimism.
That’s not all. Seligman’s research also revealed that those sales people who had pessimistic mindsets were also 300% more likely to quit the profession of selling than those who were optimistic."[13]

Psychology: Optimism vs. hope

See also: Hope and Goal setting and Agency (psychology)

"In psychology, hope and optimism, while often used interchangeably, represent distinct concepts. Optimism is a general expectation of positive future outcomes, while hope is a more active process focused on achieving specific goals through personal agency and pathways. Essentially, optimism is about believing things will generally turn out well, while hope is about believing one can take actions to make things better, even if the overall outcome is uncertain.[14]

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Optimism and a longer life span

"Adjusting for demographics and health conditions, women in the highest versus lowest optimism quartile had 14.9% (95% confidence interval, 11.9 to 18.0) longer life span. Findings were similar in men." - Optimism is associated with exceptional longevity in 2 epidemiologic cohorts of men and women, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2019 Sep 10;116(37):18357-18362. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1900712116. Epub 2019 Aug 26.

Article: If you are happy and you know it… you may live longer, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, 2019

Optimism bias

Glass-half-full.jpg

See also: Optimism bias and Dunning-Kruger effect

Tali Sharot in the journal Current Biology, wrote about optimism bias:

“ The optimism bias is defined as the difference between a person's expectation and the outcome that follows. If expectations are better than reality, the bias is optimistic; if reality is better than expected, the bias is pessimistic. The extent of the optimism bias is thus measured empirically by recording an individual's expectations before an event unfolds and contrasting those with the outcomes that transpire. This methodology reveals, for instance, that students expect to receive higher starting salaries and more job offers than they end up getting. People tend to underestimate how long a project will take to complete and how much it will cost. Most of us predict deriving greater pleasure from a vacation than we subsequently do, and we anticipate encountering more positive events in an upcoming month (such as receiving a gift or enjoying a movie) than we end up experiencing (Figure 1A). Across many different methods and domains, studies consistently report that a large majority of the population (about 80% according to most estimates) display an optimism bias. Optimistic errors seem to be an integral part of human nature, observed across gender, race, nationality and age.[15] ”

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Quote:

“Never underestimate how wrong you can be. Even the most careful planning can be overtaken by external events and circumstances.” - Dan Peña, American businessman and business coach[16]

Journal articles

Books

  • Practical Optimism: The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional Well-Being by Sue Varma M.D. Avery. February 20, 2024
  • Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by Martin E. P. Seligman. Vintage. January 3, 2006

Christian book

See also: Bible memorization

  • Dwell Differently: Overcome Negative Thinking with the Simple Practice of Memorizing God’s Truth by Natalie Abbott and Vera Schmitz. Bethany House Publishers. May 14, 2024

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Best of all possible worlds, Encyclopedia Britannica
  4. ↑ Best of all possible worlds, Encyclopedia Britannica
  5. ↑ Is the Pursuit of Human Flourishing Scriptural?
  6. ↑ Using Learned Optimism in Your Life
  7. ↑ Using Learned Optimism in Your Life
  8. ↑ Satisfaction: The Role of Happiness and Optimism Among Young Adults, Journal of Social Sciences and Economics, December 2022, 1(1):13-20 DOI:10.61363/jsse.v1i1.33
  9. ↑ Investigation of the Relationships between Optimism, Perceived Social Support, and Hope, i.e.: Inquiry in Education, Volume 13, Issue 1, Article 11
  10. ↑ Optimism and Its Impact on Mental and Physical Well-Being, Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 2010; 6: 25–29. Published online 2010 May 14. doi: 10.2174/1745017901006010025
  11. ↑ The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?, Psychological Bulletin Copyright 2005 by the American Psychological Association, 2005, Vol. 131, No. 6, 803– 855
  12. ↑ The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?, Psychological Bulletin Copyright 2005 by the American Psychological Association, 2005, Vol. 131, No. 6, 803– 855
  13. ↑ How Your Thoughts Impact Your Sales, Hoffeld Group
  14. ↑ Hope vs. optimism psychology
  15. ↑ The optimism bias by Tali Sharot, Current Biology, Volume 21, Issue 23, 6 December 2011, Pages R941-R945
  16. ↑ Dan Peña's Twitter feed
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