Have you ever noticed how some people always seem to be cheerful, and look on the bright side when faced with life’s problems? And I’m sure we’ve all met others who will find the down side of just about everything! You’ve probably also heard this described as looking at a glass as half full or half empty, optimist vs. pessimist.
But did you know that we all have an equal choice about how we react to situations? To be optimistic (or pessimistic) isn’t actually a state of mind that we’re born with and stuck with. We learn as we go through life, until our outlook is so fixed that it influences and ‘colours’ everything we face.
So, if how we approach the current global economic situation is the result of something we ‘learned’, it stands to reason that, if that way is making us feel depressed, we can choose to learn a different way.
Obviously this brief description is very simplistic and I’m not advocating a ‘Pollyanna’ approach to life either! What I am suggesting is that you can choose to, and learn to, feel more optimistic if you want to. By doing so, you will also want to start taking action, and putting yourself back in control. This will have a ‘virtuous circle’ effect because, as you see positive results, you will genuinely start to feel more optimistic!
If you want to read more on this fascinating subject, I suggest ‘Learned Optimism’ by Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman (back in print again). He’s a psychologist who helps people to rise above pessimism and depression. His techniques, based on over 20 years of clinical research, work just as well today as when his book was first published in the early 1990s.
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