Many studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of optimism and its relationships with mental health, physical health, coping, quality of life and adaptation of purpose, healthy lifestyle and risk perception, etc., as a psychological phenomenon.
It is not about seeing the glass half full or half empty or forcing ourselves to always be happy, but about how to deal with situations (good or bad) as a possibility to learn and grow as a person. Optimism, like pessimism, is a learned behaviour, and according to Seligman anyone can learn to be more optimistic. He developed a learned optimism test designed to help people discover their degree of optimism through the ABCDE Model:
- Adversity: The situation that demands a response.
- Belief: How we interpret the event.
- Consequence: How we behave, respond or feel.
- Dispute: The effort we make to argue or refute the belief.
- Energisation: The result that comes from trying to challenge our beliefs.
Learning optimism can take time. Remember that it is an ongoing process that you may need to repeat often.
To know more about the steps in this model, visit the following link: How Learned Optimism Can Improve Your Life (verywellmind.com)
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