Learned optimism is the idea in positive psychology that a talent for joy, like any other, can be cultivated. It is contrasted with learned helplessness. Learning optimism is done by consciously challenging any negative self talk.
Read more about Learned Optimism: Overview, Criticism, History, Research, Applications
Famous quotes containing the words learned and/or optimism:
“Then I discovered that my son had learned something new. For the first time, he was able to give a proper kiss, puckering up his lips and enfolding my face in his arms. “Kees Dada,” he said as he bussed me on the nose and cheeks. No amount of gratification at work could have compensated for that moment.”
—Donald H. Bell. “Conflicting Interests,” New York Times Magazine (July 31, 1983)
“What I always hated and detested and cursed above all things was this contentment, this healthiness and comfort, this carefully preserved optimism of the middle classes, this fat and prosperous brood of mediocrity.”
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)