I am a card-carrying OPTIMIST!
I’m on a quest to share the three most important mindsets we can cultivate in life.
Last week, I shared the very first one that came to mind, gratitude.
Today, I want to share with you 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), but the reason optimism is my mindset MVP – personally and professionally – is because of the massive impact it has on our lives.
In particular, being a psychologist who has a special interest in healthy living, I witness the massive impact an optimistic outlook has on our minds and on our bodies.
But it’s not just my observations, the benefits of optimism are well documented by science. Here are some of the scientifically supported psychological and physical benefits of an optimistic thinking style¹,²,³:
While how optimistic or pessimistic we are is partly about our natural pre-disposition, I don’t tend to focus on that too much in my therapy, as it’s not something we can control (and I’m too much of an optimist to dwell on the uncontrollables!).
Instead, I prefer to focus on the reality that optimism can be learned.
So, you may ask, how does one learn to become more optimistic?
Well, like with gratitude, there are many ways, but let me share with you one that I think is 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.
(It’s still helpful when everything’s going well, but it’s actually easy for many 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, physical health, and resilience in facing life’s challenges.
Let me share an example from a recent client, who (currently) identifies as a pessimist, and her work friend, who we identified as an optimist in session!
Both of them didn’t get 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 she had 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 very 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 makeup of her negative thinking – through exploring the 3 Ps – that she was able to properly reframe it and get over the issue. In this sense, the 3 Ps was the framework she needed to help her think more positively about the situation.
(And infinitely more valuable than reciting an affirmation of ‘I’m good at my job’ a dozen times!).
While there are exercises that can be done to cultivate a more optimistic thinking style (and we’re going to be working through them in my upcoming 90-Day Transformation Challenge!) I find that simply understanding the 3 Ps, and doing a simple ‘mental audit’ of them can really help when things go wrong.
So, the next time life throws a curve ball your way, 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 untold.
Try it and let me know how you go!
Yours in optimism,
Glenn
P.S. If you’d like support with becoming more optimistic, as well as more grateful and kinder – as well as the physical stuff like eating healthier, moving more, and getting better sleep – why not join my new 90-Day Transformation Challenge? It starts on June 2, and members of my e-community can still access the exclusive Early Bird rates until Midnight Monday May 26. In the program, I personally support you to cultivate the mindsets and habits for a total transformation for 13 weeks (all for less than the cost of one psychology session with me!), so if you’re looking for a wellbeing kick start to take you through the middle of the year, I’d LOVE for you to join me 🙂 🙂 🙂
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
