Optimism, A Learned Mindset

📷 by Madalin Matica ©
Optimism, A Learned Mindset – by Arnie Wohlgemut

Success follows a positive mental attitude and learned optimism. Luck has nothing to do with it.

Martin Seligman wrote in his book Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, “Optimism is the most important quality you can develop for personal and professional success and happiness”.

Optimism can be learned through practice and repetition. Here are 4 core behaviours:

“The most powerful personality traits to develop in one’s quest for success are incurable optimism and integrity.”

Amy Rees Anderson
  1. Having a positive mindset is scientifically proven to boost happiness and motivate you to achieve your goals. Look for the good in every situation. No matter what goes wrong, they look for something good or beneficial.

“We are addicted to our thoughts. We cannot change anything if we cannot change our thinking.” – Santosh Kalwar

2. The dictionary defines life lessons as “something from which useful knowledge or principles can be learned”. Always seek the valuable lesson in every setback or difficulty. Understand that difficulties are not obstructions but instructions.

“Optimistic people seem to be more effective in almost every area of life.”

Martin Seligman

3. Become a problem solver. Good problem solvers are good thinkers. They have less drama and problems to begin with and they don’t get overly emotional when faced with a problem. Instead of complaining, take action. Ask questions like – what’s the solution? what do we do now?

“We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.“

Earl Nightingale
  1. Focus on your dream or your goal. Each of us have a dream. Some developed this dream as a child, others have a dream that has evolved or, has been slowly revealed in our conscience mind over time. Think about what you want, how to get it. Focus on moving forward rather than backwards.

Believe me, there have been days where I felt I was stuck on the freeway. But I have learned to stop and re-position my mind looking for the good, understanding the lesson, solving the problem and, again and again, focusing on the dream.

Learn to practice these 4 core behaviours and will become natural to you.