Optimism is good for your health. It reduces your risk of dying from cardiovascular conditions, leads to lower blood pressure and improved sleep quality, and might even help you live 10 to 15 percent longer. Being optimistic even reduces your risk of suffering from work-related burnout.
Just reading about the benefits of optimism can cause anxiety if you see yourself as a naturally pessimistic person — because the advantages of optimism then become yet another thing that's simply out of reach. The good news? Optimism isn't quite the immutable character trait we've come to see it as. Optimism is a mindset that can actively be cultivated. Here's how.
1. Toward a New Definition of Optimism
Most people probably have personal definitions of optimism that closely reflect the one listed in the American Psychological Association's dictionary; they see optimism as "hopefulness: the attitude that good things will happen and that people’s wishes or aims will ultimately be fulfilled".
If you see yourself as a pessimistic, you may believe that such a mindset amounts to denialism or misplaced faith, but there are other ways to define optimism. Scheier and Carver (1985) held optimism to be, instead, "a generalized belief that good outcomes are possible". Even the chronic worriers among us have to recognize that good outcomes are indeed possible, even in situations where they seem unlikely.
Can you keep that in mind as you go about your daily life? You are already on your way toward being a more optimistic person! All you need to do is actively and consciously visualize the fact that bad outcomes are not predetermined.
2. Visualize the Process Required for a Good Outcome
Pessimists tend to envision negative outcomes. What if you could break this programming? One study, Cultivating Optimism: How to Frame Your Future during a Health Challenge, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, set out to discover how people could embrace more positive mindsets during personal health crises (such as a cancer diagnosis). Given the fact that patient mindset has a measurable impact on outcomes, this is crucial.
The team found that visualizing the steps required to reach a good outcome, rather than imagining the outcome itself, had promising results. Called process-oriented imagining, it doesn't require you to assume that "things will be OK" or that the best possible outcome will actually come to be, but it does invite you to imagine taking all the steps that would contribute to a good outcome.
You are now being proactive in creating the outcome you seek — which, really, is all you can do. That sounded a little more pessimistic than warranted, but it's a really important step that can have a huge impact on what happens next.
3. Squash Your Inner Pessimist
Do you find yourself overtaken by pessimistic thoughts? Do you see doom in your immediate future, and do you systematically banish any thoughts that things will go your way from your mind? Try helping yourself to some of the tools of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a popular form of psychotherapy can help people deal with just about any psychological challenge.
Try logically assessing:
- Whether you are holding onto negative thought patterns that are not actually rooted in reality — like telling yourself you are not good enough, you'll fail at your weight loss challenge, or you'll never find love.
- Where those thought patterns come from.
- If you would apply the same negative thoughts to others, or whether you predict more hopeful outcomes for the people in your life.
Once you are done analyzing your pessimistic ideas, counter your negative thoughts with new, more realistic thoughts. One example: "I have a good chance of getting the job I applied for; I can do the job well and have the required experience and qualifications, so therefore I am a good candidate".
Do this routinely, and you'll train your brain to accept that positive things are possible — and you'll have good outcomes at least some of the time. That, in turn, modifies your behavior. It's no surprise that feeling more positive actually does invite good outcomes in, when you think about it. It's got nothing to do with Karma or cosmic energy. Rather, if you think you can perform well, you're more likely to do exactly that. If you are more optimistic, you'll be more likely to tackle hard tasks and stick with them until you reach your goal. If you're more positive, other people will like you better, treat you better, and offer you more opportunities.
4. Build Strong Relationships with Others
One study found that people who have strong and positive relationships with friends, relatives, mentors, and other people tend to be more optimistic. Connecting with others and forming strong bonds is one of the most effective ways to cultivate a more optimistic mindset, because it makes you feel happy, loved, safe, and competent. The people in your life will reflect the way they see you back at you, constantly showing you that being alive is a great thing.
5. Learn from your Mistakes, but Don't Integrate them into Your Identity
We all fail sometimes. Bad things happen to all of us. Because humans have been shown to place greater emphasis on avoiding pain than on experiencing pleasure and happiness, time and time again, many of us tend to dwell on past negative outcomes in an effort to prevent them from recurring. We come to assume the worst, and immerse ourselves in thoughts where the worst has already happened.
Don't do this. Tell yourself off if you catch yourself in the act.
Analyzing past mistakes can stop you from making the same ones again, but if you take it a step further, it can turn into a deep belief that you can't do any better. That's just not logical. Focus on thoughts of overcoming adversity, rather than on facing it in the first place, and you'll come to see yourself as a survivor. Survivors can tackle anything!
A Final Word
You can't go from hopeless pessimist to Polyanna in three seconds, but if you're persistent in acknowledging that good things happen as often as bad things, and you have a hand in creating positive outcomes, you can successfully train yourself to become more optimistic. Cultivating a more optimistic you is as much about grit as it is about believing in the good in the world, and that part is entirely within your control. You can do it!