Learned Optimism Martin Seligman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Seligman reflects the twenty years of clinical research on how optimism improves the quality of life. You're insanely cheerful for someone who has been crapped on by life way more than most people.” The other day I got this text from a friend and I have to say it is one of the nicest compliments anyone's. Learned optimism is the idea in positive psychology that a talent for joy, like any other, can be cultivated. Positive thinking stories can be powerful. In it, there are two groups of rats. I learned a couple of months ago that another story I'd heard from someone I respect also wasn't entirely true. The good news is that, even if they are not natural optimists, they can come to embrace learned optimism. In the first third of the book, Martin puts forth the hypothesis that success and happiness is tied to how optimistic or pessimistic a person is. Learned helplessness and optimistic explanatory style. It is contrasted with learned helplessness. Some need scientific and clinical research. This story is one of optimism being a critical survival/success factor. Later in his career, Seligman instead wrote about 'Learned Optimism' and how people can move from hopelessness to optimism (see these lecture notes or this book review). When you turn the tape back on you will find out what your reactions to these forty-eight situations say about your explanatory style. Learned optimism is a way to prosper in todays tough economy. Learning optimism is done by consciously challenging any negative self talk. Acknowledging that he is now called the .