Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life

I was introduced to Martin Seligman during a University class called "Positive Psychology". To those that are unfamiliar with the sub-field, positive psychology is an offshoot of traditional psychology. It focuses on different aspects of psychology, like how we can live happier, healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives. Learned Optimism sets out on a quest to change a fundamental aspect of human personality. While we have all been asked the question, "Is the glass half empty or half full?", who knew a book could help change your answer? Is that an overstatement? Absolutely not. Seligman explains that people have different ways of explaining events. When an event happens, it can be seen as neutral. The milk spilled; WE are the ones who say that is a 'good' or 'bad' thing. While many self help books try to address the issue of positivity, they advocate blindly holding an optimistic attitude. I have read many pop psychology and self help books, ranging from "The Power of Positive Thinking" to "How to Win Friends and Influence People", to "Think and Grow Rich" (I'm still trying this one - no luck so far). Some of these self-help books advocate an almost faith-based approach to changing one's behavior. Simply will something, and if you desire it enough, you can manifest it! Allow your inner thoughts and desires to carve out your external world! Think positive and you can do anything! I believe Zig Ziglar said that no matter how positive somebody was, if they aren't a certified cardiovascular surgeon, he wouldn't trust them to give him open heart surgery! I agree, and I think positive thinking without realism, prudence, and planning is pointless. In Learned Optimism, this problem is addressed. Seligman points out that being positive isn't something you turn on and keep on 24/7. When a bad thing happens, an optimistic person doesn't paint over it, declaring "It will be totally fine, I'm happy!". The difference is that an innate optimist would say that negative events are external and temporary. This distinction is an incredible revelation, and we all do this to an extent! When treated rudely, perhaps by a clerk, a pessimist might declare that "People are rude, this is the way things are.", and that the clerk "Was a jerk". They might be upset or offended, taking the clerk's actions as an attack toward them. An optimist, according to Seligman, THINKS differently. They might say "THIS (particular) Clerk is acting rude." He or she "must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed." This difference in explanatory style was the key concept I took away from this book. While events simply occur, one's interpretation can be positive or negative. So if it's a choice, then how do we change from being pessimistic to being optimistic? You'll have to read the book to find out. Either way, just know that while positive psychology is a new field, I gained more from this scientifically accredited book than I did reading 5 self-help books. Apply the concepts and principles within, and you might just surprise yourself! :)

Learned Optimism is a - sometimes uneasy - mix of the theoretical and the practical. Seligman is clearly captivated by his subject, which he has made his life's work. Not surprisingly then, he sees the value of an optimistic outlook in every aspect of life. It's not just that optimists do better than pessimists at school, work and sports, but they even live longer. Seligman makes the case that "the arrow points both ways": that pessimism is not a consequence but also a contributing cause of depression and that an optimistic "explanatory style" for the misfortunes of life, large and small, can actually prevent a descent into morbid depression. He even says he can predict the outcome of elections by analyzing the explanatory styles of the competing candidates - because in a head-to-head contest the most optimistic candidate will prevail. In Part 1 of the book he lays out the theoretical case for optimism and the techniques by which it can be measured. In Part 2 he describes how the optimist's advantage is played out in the different "realms of life", such as work, sports, politics, etc. In Part 3, he explains self-help techniques for moving from pessimism to optimism. I found Part 1 the most interesting - not least because I got to fill out a couple of tests to help me discern my explanatory style and determine if I was currently depressed (and how deeply). It turns out I am moderately optimistic about bad events and moderately pessimistic about good ones. But I am not at all depressed, so I guess I must have learned to live with the contradiction. Part 3 gets us into the land of the light bulb joke (where to change, the light bulb must truly desire change). I am convinced from my own experience that optimism is like a muscle that can be worked and strengthened. I also recognized in Seligman's techniques ones that I had stumbled onto myself. In the final analysis, whether the reader will find reading Learned Optimism helpful will depend on the reader. Judging by the Amazon reviews, the experience for some will be life-changing; for others not so. Perhaps underlying explanatory style may have something to do with that. Perhaps also a self-help book is not the best therapy for the truly, deeply depressed (as the book suggests, you can improve your outlook but you have to be motivated to start a mental workout routine and stick with it to see the positive results). However there is much to learn here and I would not hesitate to recommend the book to anyone interested in understanding more about the origin and effect of individual explanatory styles - including one's own - and what can be done to change them.

This book is beautifully written, reads like a thriller, and packs plenty of wisdom in each page. The author not only understands the field as an expert but writes well, and conveys the core ideas in a useful way. This book showed me how much of a pessimist I was in certain areas. Many of us "realists" unfortunately are pessimists too - I realized, and limit ourselves unnecessarily in areas where such self-imposed limits are not warranted. This book has a toolkit for us to evaluate the "narrative" that we have within ourselves, and it also allows us to evaluate the narratives that others have based on statements they make. I have not seen this toolkit presented in this manner anywhere else. The author requires us to behave as a scientist or detective, exploring the inner-dialogs and how it shapes our views and feelings - not just in ourselves but in others too. This ties in to ideas of mindfulness or awareness, because, without mindfulness or deeper awareness, it is difficult to engage in the "watching" of the inner narrative. I was hoping the author provide more details on the CAVE technique that he speaks about, but the specifics of that were not disclosed in this book. I have added plenty of highlights and notes, and plan to revisit them periodically, also try to practice the techniques that the author shared (ABCDE, PPP etc). I think the techniques in this book will not only lead to better or more accurate cognition of events, and situations, but also, an overall improved, hopeful and optimistic outlook in general.

I've read a lot of bad psychology and self-help books over the years, and I can confidently say that this isn't one of them. It's an extremely intelligent, well thought out, well written history of the origins of positive psychology that everyone can understand. As a scientist, I found the research discussed to be particularly fascinating. I bought the book to learn how to overcome learned helplessness and was pleasantly surprised to know that I've already learned the techniques from reading Dr. David Burns' book "Feeling Good". Learned Optimism, however, is a much simpler version without the cognitive distortions to sort through, which is a really great place to start if you're new to the practice of thought stopping and replacement, but also a really great refresher from a new point of view if you're a seasoned pro. Honestly, even if you've already learned the technique and don't want to try it his way, the biography Dr. Seligman takes you through in the first 2 sections are well worth the read. A fascinating story about the origins of positive psychology and all the obstacles it had to overcome along the way. And if you're a parent who wants to learn how to help your child learn optimism, or you want to learn optimism in regards to your job and career, he's got that covered, too. There really isn't a reason not to read this book.

The first several chapters discuss the history of positive psychology. I found this mostly irrelevant—yes, you want to have enough data to prove the author isn’t a quack, but in-depth, chapter-long discussion of Freud’s theories (and others’) isn’t necessary for that. Neither is a lengthy, detailed description of “learned helplessness” experiments performed on dogs, which follows. While I do realize that science conducts animal experiments, I prefer not to read about them—nor do I need to. I skipped over these parts. I really didn’t expect a self-help book to include something that upsetting, didn’t expect a positive psychology book to include something so depressing. If the book you bought for stress relief is causing you more stress, it’s undermining itself. Almost as if the author realizes that, he provides a short break on page 33 in the form of a quiz to see how pessimistic/optimistic you are. He asks you to score the quiz later and then moves on to another chapter about history. The quiz itself, when you do score it and read the results, is eye-opening and interesting. The author moves on to the topic of depression. After a questionnaire to determine how depressed the reader is and presenting some interesting info about a study on depression’s relatively recent and epidemic-level prevalence, the author discusses another animal experiment in learned helplessness and compares its results to depressed humans. The description of the experiment is brief; I just include the warning here for those (like me) who would prefer to skim (or skip) over this info. And then we’re back to history, and then a huge and very detailed narrative of a case study involving Met Life, the insurance company. Next, interesting findings… we’re on page 112 of this tiny-font book now, folks. Next come chapters about how children become optimists/pessimists, and how to assess their levels of optimism/pessimism and find out if they’re depressed, etc. Following that are stories about sports teams through the years, and how their levels of optimism/pessimism affected whether they won/lost. Same thing with various political candidates. We are now on page 208. And remember, the font is tiny, so those are a LONG 208 pages. The author now begins to talk about how to change from a pessimistic mindset to an optimistic one. The tools are great and I can honestly say they have helped my chronic pessimism and stress level. Next, the author waxes philosophical in presenting his views about how individualism has adversely affected the number of depression cases. His views on this, to me, are correct. Unless people can connect to something larger than themselves, they are bound to be depressed. Fortunately, he sees hope ahead. I believe that in one review a psychology professor stated he used this book as a textbook. I can see how it would be excellent for that, with its case studies and history lessons. How will you like this book? It depends on what you want to use it for. If you’re interested in the history of positive psychology and the research and case studies supporting its validity, there’s a ton of great info about that here. If you want a book that instantly gives you tools for self-help, you may want to look elsewhere, or just catch it on sale and skip to page 208—and be aware that the book isn’t entirely a self-help toolkit.

I cannot say enough positive things about this book. In my opinion, most books in the mental health or "self-help" genre all follow the same outline and are filled with puffy catch phrases and overly simplistic (and I would argue- ineffective) ways to change your mental health positively. However, Dr. Seligman approaches how to change your outlook from pessimistic to optimistic from a scientific, tested, and clinical perspective. I know that doesn't sound appealing but hear me out. Most self-help books just tell you to smile more and give you a bunch of fluff and demand money for it- but Dr. Seligman and his decades of research can prove clinically how his methods work and how his methods for gaining an optimistic mindset can actually improve your quality of life and physical health. His countless experiments, research, teaching fellowships, and partnerships with some of the biggest names in Psychology have resulted in tangible and measurable proof for his theories and methods. No unmeasurable mysticisms or magic- actual evidence. I have read other books on mental health, but his book actually helped me and isn't just a money grab. Full Disclosure: Dr. Seligman began his research in the 70's. What scientists were allowed to do for experiments back then is obviously different then today and Dr. Seligman's Pavlovian experiments on dogs and rats would not necessarily be allowed today. I find such experiments deplorable, but don't let that dissuade you from reading this book and from benefiting from the knowledge gained. What's done is done and the information gained has been gained.

The book is great for anyone wanting to learn about some basic Psychology, And for those who just want to be more optimistic and reap all the benefits. The book does very well I’ll explain every thought in theory The author ever had along with other opinions of others. Very useful tool in helping you become more optimistic give you the tools and the science behind why it works and how to do it. One of the coolest things I found in the book was that actually had a couple test in there one to see how optimistic you are and I want to see how Depressed you are within the last week and another one to test for your kidsDepression. The one thing I did not like and the reason I gave it a four star rating rather than a five is because some of the terms a good handful of them or more or even certain times when the author explains certain stuffHe uses very elaborated or bigger terms it’s not considered a light or even use read. However even then they weren’t that hard to grasp just a little harder than it would be for most people. However even then they weren’t that hard to grasp just a little harder then it would be for most people but aside from that someone small problem the book was absolutely fantastic and I recommended to basically anyone.

It's a little early to say, but I have just started applying the thought framework this book suggests and I'm seeing positive change on the first day. I've felt very stuck in various aspects of my life for about five years now, and I've tried life coaching, counseling, reading other self help books etc with little change. This book is helping me realize that across all the spheres of my life I feel stuck in, I've developed really negative beliefs. I have a hard time accomplishing work goals, and believe myself lazy. I often forget to call my loved ones, and believe myself selfish. What I'm seeing now is that these negative thoughts have consequences--they're causing an immobility, depression spiral. I believe myself to be lazy, and I have a harder time working because of it. I think of myself as selfish, assume my friends will be angry with me when I do call them, and so avoid making the calls. Maybe I'm not lazy, selfish, or depressed--I just have a system of negative thoughts that are making me feel disempowered and helpless. It's becoming clear that my thinking is VERY cyclically pessimistic; I even feel a clenching in my chest every time I return to one of my negative beliefs. But even today, the first day I've consulted with this book, I've used some of its technique to challenge my negative thinking, with positive results. I'd been putting off returning a friend's text because I thought he might be upset with me, but just examining that belief made me realize how knee-jerk and baseless it is. Having reoriented myself, I texted him back. It's one small step but that felt VERY powerful. I already did feel compelled to reattribute much of my depression as pessimism, and if I do that there will be ways to positively change every thought I have. All we are is the set of assumptions we make about the world, and I'm amazed at how little I've been examining my own assumptions. I am so happy I bought this book. Take a look at the preview and see if it resonates with you; it did with me because it's so research-based, not airy or cheerful at all. Just useful and powerful. If you struggle with any sort of depression or ineffectiveness, I recommend you give those first few pages a read. It really might give us all a way to get better.

Es un libro, realmente interesante que relata muchos estudios que hace el autor sobre el optimismo y el pesimismo y finaliza con los cuantos capítulos prácticos.

Learned Optimism is a powerful book that can genuinely shift your perspective. It teaches you how to interpret life’s events more constructively and build a resilient, balanced mindset — no matter what’s changing around you. It’s a must-read if you want to add real value to your life, strengthen your mental wellbeing, and find a sense of peace in a fast-moving, ever-evolving world.

Good read

Instrumental book showing real life examples and a spot on advice to be more optimism at the end of book

This book opens my mind to many possibilities of living a positive-centric fulfilling life.