Learned optimism is the concept that a talent for joy, like any other talent, can be cultivated, developed through the practice of consciously challenging one's own negative self-talk. It holds that an optimistic outlook is not simply a fixed, innate disposition but a set of thinking habits that a person can build through deliberate practice in how they interpret and respond to setbacks.
Facts
Core ClaimOptimism can be learned: pessimists can become optimists by consciously challenging negative self talk and thinking about their reactions to adversity in a new way. 1 First Described Year Connections
Associated With
Seligman coined 'learned optimism' as the counterpart to his learned helplessness research, describing an explanatory style that can be taught.
In Branch
Sources
1. Learned optimism (Wikipedia)
Overview, first paragraph, sentence beginning Seligman invites
Seligman invites pessimists to learn to be optimists by thinking about their reactions to adversity in a new way.
Overview, first paragraph, sentence beginning Learned optimism was described
and published in his 1990 book
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