Are you an Optimist?

People who are optimistic…

• See obstacles and bad events as temporary – challenges to be overcome
• Believe that they will succeed
• Apply their success belief to all that they do
• Operate from a place of success and not failure
• Are unfazed by defeat – they pick themselves up and brush themselves off and move forward
• Don’t see setbacks as personal flaws
• See success as a function of motivation and ability
• Do better at all that they do – life, school, at play, everything
• Enjoy better health

People who are not optimistic…

• Expect the worst
• Give up more easily
• Are prone to depression – which affects their health
• Feel helpless and listless
• Attribute success to luck
• Believe that bad events will last a long time
• Believe that misfortune is their fault

Tips on becoming an optimist…

• Be mindful of your self-talk
• Take a look at what your beliefs are about adversity and look for ways to change them
• Take note of your feelings about these beliefs
• “De-catastrophize” (term borrowed from Dr. Martin Seligman, author of Learned Optimism)

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