By Mary Jaksch
When there’s a small blue slice of sky on a rainy day – do you immediately think that the weather’s about to clear up? Or do you think that it’s likely that the rain will persist?
Optimists think that difficult times will be short-lived. Whereas pessimist will tend to think that bad events will last a long time. But that’s not all. There are three crucial dimensions of optimism according to Prof. Martin Seligman: Permanence, Pervasiveness, and Personalization.
In his book, Learned Optimism Martin Seligman explains that it’s all about our habitual ways of explaining good and bad events to ourselves.
I’m particularly interested in his research because it ties in with my experience that we tend to think in stories, and the habitual stories we tell ourselves make the difference between happiness and suffering.
Permanence
Let’s take a look at how optimists and pessimists respond to bad events.
Pessimists believe the causes of the bad events that happen to them are permanent. Optimists believe the cause is temporary. Here are some examples from Martin Feldman’s bestseller Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life
| PERMANENT (Pessimist) | TEMPORARY (Optimist) |
|---|---|
| Diets never work | Diets don’t work when you eat out |
| The boss is a bastard | The boss is in a bad mood |
In contrast, good events are seen as temporary by pessimists and permanent by optimists. Here is how that plays out:
| TEMPORARY (Pessimist) |
PERMANENT (Optimist) |
|---|---|
| It’s my lucky day | I’m always lucky |
| I tried hard | I’m talented |
As Seligman says:
People who believe good events have permanent causes try even harder after they succeed. People who see temporary reasons for good events may give up when they succeed, believing success was a fluke.
Permanence is about time. The second of the three aspects of optimism is about space.
Pervasiveness
Consider this example:
John and Hayden, both employees of the an advertising agency got fired on the same day. Both became depressed and found it difficult to apply for other jobs. But there was a significant difference. Joohn kept his ordinary life going. He met up regularly with his friends, he was a loving partner to his girlfriend, and kept up his regular running training.
Hayden, on the other hand, fell apart. He became withdrawn, and stopped exercising, the relationship with his wife soured, and his health suffered.
The reason for the difference is this:
Pessimists make universal explanations for their failures and then give up on everything. They are catastrophizers.
In contrast, optimists make specific explanations of for failure. And, whilst they might feel down about that particular failure, they tend to be able to continue strongly in other areas of their life. Here are two examples of how bad fortune is interpreted differently by catastrophizers and optimists:
| UNIVERSAL (Pessimist) | SPECIFIC (Optimist |
|---|---|
| All teachers are unfair | Mr. Beckman is unfair |
| Nobody likes me | John doesn’t like me |
The opposite happens when good fortune befalls us. A pessimist thinks that good fortune is due to specific, and not universal causes. Here are examples:
| SPECIFIC (Pessimist) | UNIVERSAL (Optimist |
|---|---|
| I’m smart at math | I’m smart |
| I enjoy helping them | I care about people |
The Stuff of Hope
You can see quite easily how the two aspects of optimism, permanence and pervasiveness work together to create hope or despair.
Finding temporary and specific causes for misfortune is the art of hope.
Finding permanent and universal causes for misfortune is the practice of despair.
There is a third aspect that is important in creating optimism.
Personalization
When bad things happen, we either blame ourselves (internalize) or other people or circumstances (externalize). Seligman explains that people who blame themselves when they fail suffer from low self-esteem as a consequence.
The flipside of externalizing blame is that it’s important to take personal responsibility for our actions, in order to change.
Can develop optimism?
According to Seligman, we can learn to be more optimistic. That’s important is because research has shown that optimists have a significant advantage, compared with pessimists. Optimists do better at school, at work, or on the playing field. Their health is usually better and they are happier. Evidence even suggests that they live longer.
Because pessimism is a deeply ingrained habit of seeing the world, change can only come about through learning new thought habits, and not through simplistic strategies, such as repeating affirmations or playing happy music.
I’m an optimist. At least, I thought I was. Then I did Seligman’s Optimism Test which measures Permanence, Pervasiveness, and Personalization. I got only 5 out of 8 possible points. What that tells me is that I’m more pessimistic than I’m aware of – especially in regards to Permanence. I want to change that.
Would you like to join me for an experiment?
I suggest keeping an Optimism Journal for one week. In it we can record every time we notice ourselves saying something that is pessimistic, and then write a different version that is more optimistic, using the three aspects with their examples above.
What the Optimism Journal will do is to prepare the ground for change. In my experience, awareness of what we are doing with our mind is a crucial step on the road of change.
Next week I’ll present some sure-fire ways of developing optimism.
How do you rate your three dimensions of optimism?
Enjoy these related articles:
Counting Your Blessings: 5 Ways to Increase Happiness
Photo by Meredith Farmer
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What a fantastic thought-provoking post, Mary. It will get people buying these books and reappraising then changing their lives. I had to rewire my brain and build new neural pathways because so much of my natural outlook was the permanent/pessimistic paradigm you share above. It’s taken a million small steps and loving thoughts on my journey towards optimism. But oh how precious my life is now that I have! Thank you for this.
janices last blog post..Hyacinths and Silence
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My natural outlook is the permanent/pessimistic paradigm. I’m in recovery now–trying my best to change my outlook. It can be hard. I easily slip back into the pessimistic view. This is a great post, Mary. Thanks. I will definitely be writing a optimism journal this week.
Lovelyns last blog post..Knowing When It’s Time To Change
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Hi Mary,
Are the examples and headings of the tables confused?
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Wow! This is a really interesting article. I’m working hard to be really positive in my life and it was great to read this. I learned a lot. Thank you!
Positively Presents last blog post..break the chains of adversity in 7 (sort of) easy steps
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Powerful post, hitting the main sore spots for this Chicken Little. Reading side by side with David Foster Wallace’s Kenyon commencement speech http://tinyurl.com/4j3wz5
Wrapping my head around these–thanks!
Sure wish there were a “print this post” function on this blog, though.
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Hi Mary,
That’s a very interesting analysis!
I hear a lot of people talking about optimists being just as unrealistic as pessimists, only in the other direction. But I don’t think it’s so.
Having been a pessimist once upon a time, I think pessimism is inherently dysfunctional. For me (and evidently others) it just served as a way for escaping responsibility for oneself, making life easier in the short term by setting the bar low.
The tendency to see the bad side is an effective (but self-defeating) method of avoiding disappointment, in others and in oneself.
David Cains last blog post..You Are the Greatest Story Ever Told
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@Discovered joys
I mentioned the headers to Mary, but I think due to time zone differences, it may have been her night time.
janices last blog post..My Journey to Ithaka
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Mary,
This is a great post about a book I really found useful. There is so much researched benefits about being optimistic.
I have to admit that I’m not as optimistic as I would like to be. My biggest problem is permanence.
Roger – A Content Lifes last blog post..Meditation for Beginners (Week 2) – Focused Meditation
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Hi DiscoveredJoys and Janice!
Yes – the heading were wrong…eeek!
I was struggling with using html for creating a table for the first time. Somehow the naughty headings must have jumped out of their box. (See Personalization)
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Hi Lovelyn and Janice – thanks for your comments. Great to read that you are on the journey towards optimism. So much more joy there!
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Hi Kay!
Thanks for the tip. Could you please check that it’s working. I’m not sure what it should look like…
I’ve installed the ‘print this post’ plugin…specially for you
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Hi Roger!
Yes – like you I’ve got a problem with Permanence . Now that I’m being more aware of my optimistic or pessimistic thoughts, I notice how often I’ll see my little or big failings as permanent. Very interesting!
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Hi Positively Present!
I’m glad this was helpful. Hopefully you’ll get even more out of the follow-up post next week.
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Hi David Cain!
What you say is very interesting:
“The tendency to see the bad side is an effective (but self-defeating) method of avoiding disappointment, in others and in oneself.”
It’s true that each time we make an optimistic prediction, we place ourselves out on a limb.
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I have very different, and I’m sure, controversial suggestion.
Nobody can really argue against optimism. Or can they? In my experience, people who are pessimistic and not helped by pretending to be optimistic. It simply cannot be sustained for long. The whole thing about optimism and “postive” thinking is a myth. Ask anyone who is depressed or pessimistic.
Pessimistic and optimistic are mental judgments. They can both be released very easily. When we can see who we are, right now, right here, there is neither optimism or pessimism, and there is no need to cover up pessimism with optimism; there is simply the joy of being.
Kaushiks last blog post..Mother’s Day – saluting the strength of women
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I’ve been thinking about the blog; I’ve also done the test.
The test showed that I was mildly optimistic about bad things and mildly pessimistic about good things. Now I’m not saying for a moment that my results are special (honest!). I’m suspicious of simple tests. But – it made me wonder if aiming to be relentlessly optimistic was always a good thing.
Aiming for a quiet, calm, attitude to life may not be exciting, but it may lead to being more contented.
Can you have too much optimism, too much happiness?
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Hi Kaushik!
I definitely agree that papering over pessimism, let alone depression does not work. That’s why I’m interested in Seligman’s method of making pessimists more optimistic. He discards all the happy, clappy new-age stuff.
I think when we’re present, we’re actually ‘optimistic’. Just simply because we are open to what is and what may become.
Whereas morose people hang out in their dark stories and find it very difficult to be present.
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Hi DiscoveredJoys!
“Can you have too much optimism, too much happiness?”
That’s a very interesting question.
I have to agree that over-the-top optimism. the kind that’s born of denial leads to more suffering, not to less.
On the other hand, I notice that I’m much more creative when I’m optimistic. And much more grateful. And more content too.
And then there’s this strange thing, synchronicity. When I’m optimistic, I tend to notice more things that give rise to optimism.
I think that we can be optimists and still have a good dose of realism that can perceive suffering. Whereas blind optimism tends to turn away from suffering.
A quiet, calm life is a great thing.
I must admit though… I favor adventure:-)
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Can’t find the “Print this article” button, and see that the last of the tables is still backwards. But have re-read the whole thing for my own study–it is a great post!
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Hi Mary,
Next month is the First World Congress Meeting for the International Association of Positive Psychology and Dr. Seligman is hosting it. I am fortunate to say that I will be attending the Congress because I am a member. Needless to say, I love this post!
Optimism is one of those things that is much more fascinating than I realized. As someone who is an optimist, I have always found it to be easy but with my work and experience, it really is not a natural state of being for everyone. However, the good news that it can be learned. Yay!
Nadia – Happy Lotuss last blog post..Think Big!
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Hi Nadia!
It’s great that you’re going to the conference. Maybe you could write a post for us about what you learn?
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Hi Mary,
I would love to do such a post!
Thank you so much for the offer.
Nadia – Happy Lotuss last blog post..Think Big!
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As always, great stuff. Count me in on the experiment maybe I can get down to that core belief system and make some changes.
Jack Woodyards last blog post..Choosing Happiness
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I think being a realist is the right balance between pessimism and optimism.
Anthonys last blog post..Find Telecommuting Opportunities with Online Tutor Jobs
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