I am a card-carrying OPTIMIST!
I’m on a quest to share the three most important mindsets that we can cultivate in life.
Last week, I shared the one that always comes to my mind first, gratitude.
Today, I want to share the most longstanding mindset on my life-changing mindsets podium …
After supporting clients as a therapist for over twenty years, my personal favourite mindset would have to be optimism.
Optimism can be defined as a mental attitude characterized by hope, emphasising the good aspects of situations, and confidence in a positive future.
Optimism can sometimes be dismissed as ‘wishful thinking’ or ‘seeing the world through rose coloured glasses’ (especially by pessimists, often claiming to be realists), but the reason optimism is my mindset MVP – personally and professionally – is because of the enormous impact it can have on our lives.
Being a psychologist who has a special interest in healthy living, I especially notice the massive impact an optimistic outlook has on our minds and our bodies.
But it’s not just my observations, the benefits of optimism are proven by science. Here are some of the psychological and physical benefits of an optimistic thinking style¹,²,³:
If – upon reading the above list – you think you’d like an extra dose of optimism in your life (which is an optimistic thought in and of itself!) – the coolest thing about optimism is that it can be learned!
So how does one learn to become more optimistic?
Well, like with gratitude, there are many ways, but let me share one that I think may be the simplest 🙂
It requires learning a little theory, but once you grasp it, you’ll be able to apply it to all situations in your life.
A quick crash course, and something you may not know about optimism …
Optimism really comes into its own when something bad happens.
(Of course, it’s really helpful when everything’s going well, but it’s easier for people to be relatively optimistic under these circumstances).
When bad things happen, pessimists and optimists tend to view them differently in three distinct ways that we call the ‘3Ps’:
When bad things happen, pessimists tend to see them as Personal, Pervasive, and Permanent, whereas optimists tend to see them as Impersonal, Specific, and Transitory.
By understanding and challenging the 3P thought patterns, we can develop a more optimistic mindset, fostering a greater sense of psychological wellbeing, improved physical health, and enhanced resilience in facing life’s challenges.
Let me share an example from a client, who (currently) identifies as a pessimist, and her work friend, who we identified as an optimist in session!
Neither of them got short listed for a job they applied for …
My client got really upset. She personalised the ‘rejection’ and was convinced that it was something about her. She also had a moderate degree of pervasiveness; part of her felt as though the world was ending, but not completely, as she also realised there were other important things in her life. And there was definitely a sense of permanence, in that she saw it as a clear sign she wouldn’t progress in her career.
Her work colleague, on the other hand, didn’t lose any sleep over it. To her, it wasn’t personal – in fact, she thought the employers were idiots for not short listing her! She also saw the setback as specific, accepting the situation as a sign that she wouldn’t get that job, but still believing that she was generally good at her work. And she saw the situation as transitory, she knew she’d eventually get a new job, and one that was better suited to her.
My client wanted to think like her colleague, but it wasn’t until she understood the components of her negative thinking – through exploring the 3 Ps – that she was able to properly reframe it and get over the setback. In this sense, the 3 Ps was the framework she needed to help her think more positively about the situation.
(Update: at the time of publishing my client told me in her most recent session that she has actually just landed a great job! It’s a promotion in an area that’s more aligned with her values than her previous role – we pondered how much her newfound optimism had helped)
While there are exercises that can be done to cultivate a more optimistic thinking style (and we’re going to work through them in my upcoming 90-Day Transformation Challenge Coaching Program) I find that simply understanding the 3 Ps, and doing a quick ‘mental audit’ of them can really help when things go wrong.
So, the next time life throws you a curve ball, I encourage you to reflect on the 3 Ps, just like I encourage my clients to.
Like it did with my client in her session, you will often find that it helps you to feel better straight away 🙂
And, if you become like my clients who make a habit of thinking optimistically, then the benefits to your mind, body, and life can be truly profound.
Try it and let me know how you go!
Yours in optimism,
Glenn
P.S. If you’d like my support with becoming more optimistic, as well as more grateful and kinder – as well as the usual physical stuff like eating healthier, moving more, and getting better sleep – why not consider joining my upcoming 90-Day Transformation Challenge Coaching Program? It starts live on Monday September 14 in my Transformation Support Community, and to help you get a head-start, new members who register before the 7th of September receive 14-Day Complimentary Membership to the Community. This means you can complete all of the pre-recorded material on the ten transformational mindsets and habits we will cover ahead of time, before I personally coach you through them in the live program!
1. Rasmussen, H. N., Scheier, M. F., & Greenhouse, J. B. (2009). Optimism and Physical Health: A Meta-analytic Review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37(3), 239–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9111-x
2. Conversano, C., Rotondo, A., Lensi, E., Della Vista, O., Arpone, F., & Reda, M. A. (2010). Optimism and Its Impact on Mental and Physical Well-Being. Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, 6(1), 25–29. https://doi.org/10.2174/1745017901006010025
3. Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2010). Optimism. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 879–889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.01.006
