![]() Seligman argues in his book that a pessimist sees the world as it really is and that many of his fears are founded, and I add that a rational optimist makes a realistic assessment of the situation and takes the appropriate action to control what he can and adjust his perspective. The difference between the optimist and the pessimist is not simply in the way that they perceive a bad event (bad things do and will occur), but rather to what they each attribute it: is it my fault can I control the outcome will it always be like this? Personal (Internal) – “Some things are beyond my control…I can learn and avoid it next time” Pervasive (Global) – “Sometimes bad things happen” Permanent (Stable) – “It won’t be like this forever” In contrast to the pessimist, the optimist explains adversity this way: The belief that you have choices, that you have dominion, that you are autonomous, you control your competency, and you are self-determining are the differences between optimism and pessimism. Thus, the pessimist believes he has no control whatsoever over the outcome. Pervasive (Global) – “Bad things always happen” Permanent (Stable) – “It will never change” When an adversity occurs, the pessimist responds by believing that it is: What do you tell yourself on a constant basis? How do you explain to yourself the things that happen in your life – good or bad? Do you believe that you have control of your life? Do you believe that your behavior matters?Įxplanatory style – The Optimist VS The Pessimist In his book, Learned Optimism, Seligman reveals the differences between an optimist and a pessimist by simply assessing your “Explanatory Style”: Have you learned optimism, or have you learned helplessness in your life? ![]() ‘Learned helplessness’ is the belief that you have no power, no control and no ability to construct your life. They had learned to give up because they believed they had no control over their situation and outcome! In other words, the dogs that had already been conditioned to expect a light shock whenever the bell was rung just gave up and did not try to escape. And whenever he tried to give them a light shock, they would jump the fence to escape. Next, Seligman put some other dogs in the box – dogs that had not been conditioned by the light shock. He even tried a variation of the experiment by shocking them after the bell rang, and yet the dogs just lay there. Seligman believed that if he rang the bell, the dogs, expecting to get an electric shock, would automatically jump the fence to try to escape, but they didn’t. He then placed these dogs in another box which was divided into two by a fence. In one experiment, Seligman conditioned dogs by restraining them in a harness and giving them a light shock every time he rang the bell. In 1965, psychologist Martin Seligman did a series of experiments with dogs. The opposite to ‘learned helplessness’ is ‘learned optimism’ – the belief that your behavior matters and that you can control your outcome!īefore I explain why I use the term ‘learned’, it is critical to understand that feelings of helplessness lead to depression, increased stress levels, and lower intelligence and problem-solving abilities. ![]() If you believe you have no power over your life, then you are suffering from ‘learned helplessness’! If you are in a bad situation, do you do everything you can to escape it, or do you believe that you are not in control of your destiny and therefore you do nothing about it? Watch my video Now, let’s talk about the difference between learning to believe in helplessness and learning to be optimistic – having control of your life. Here are 3 bad habits that rob you of happiness – and they all start with the letter C – and we all do them. In this week’s Success Newsletter, I would like to reveal the difference between learning to believe in helplessness and learning to be optimistic – having control of your life.Īre you heartbroken, angry, lost, lonely, confused, depressed, hung up, or pining over your ex? Do you know how your ex is truly affecting you and do you want to benefit from personalized advice, action steps and revelations? Take my free breakup test and get your own personalized report.Īre You A Victim of The Three Thieves of Happiness?
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