{"id":75855,"date":"2022-08-09T13:53:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T17:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=75855"},"modified":"2022-08-22T14:32:55","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T18:32:55","slug":"martin-seligman-optimism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/martin-seligman-optimism\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin Seligman: Optimism Can Be Learned"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Can optimism be learned? How can you learn to be optimistic? What is Martin Seligman’s advice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Martin Seligman, optimism means having an empowered and confident mindset. Seligman says you can learn to be optimistic just like you learn a new skill\u2014through practice and dedication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to find out how you can learn to be optimistic, according to Seligman’s advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Learning Optimism: Martin Seligman’s Advice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Martin Seligman, optimism should be taught alongside his theory of learned helplessness<\/a>. Many people suffer from learned helplessness: the belief that they don\u2019t have the power to make positive changes in their own lives or in the world around them. Martin Seligman’s Learned Optimism <\/em>book teaches you how to break out of that pessimistic, powerless mindset and replace it with an empowered mindset of optimism and confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In psychology, learned helplessness<\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>is the belief that you can\u2019t change things and that your efforts won\u2019t make a difference.<\/strong> It\u2019s called learned <\/em>helplessness because it comes from experience: You go through important situations in which you can\u2019t change the outcome, so you come to believe that you can\u2019t affect the outcome of any <\/em>important situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seligman adds that many people learn helplessness as children, especially from their parents and teachers. Every time an adult dismisses a child\u2019s contributions and ignores his or her efforts, it ingrains helplessness into that child\u2019s psyche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning New Thought Patterns <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To be optimistic, Martin Seligman says you should change your thought pattern. The first step is figuring out how you currently think. According to Seligman, you can find out which thought pattern you have using a simple system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, identify a problem you\u2019ve faced recently\u2014perhaps an argument with a friend, a car accident, or an issue at work or school. Next, examine your thoughts about that event; in other words, what story are you telling yourself about why the problem happened? For example, do you believe that you made a mistake at work<\/a> because you\u2019re stupid or bad at your job? Or did you make that mistake because something distracted you, or because you didn\u2019t have the right information on hand? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, consider the results of the problem and your own thoughts about it. <\/strong>Some questions you might ask yourself here are: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n