Why it pays to be an optimist
By Gordon Powers, Sympatico / MSN Finance
Although written for advisors looking to understand their clients, here’s an interesting article from investment industry consultant Dan Richards which draws heavily on the work of Martin Seligman.
Seligman is a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. Much of his research has focused on optimism, a trait shown to be associated with good physical health, less depression and mental illness, longer life and, if you’re really lucky, greater happiness.
Seligman’s research has shown that we are not born as optimists. Instead, we can develop skills that help us maintain a positive point of view – something to consider, both for the close 700,000 Canadians now collecting EI and the thousands more waiting for their jobs to disappear.
Seligman began his career as a research psychologist by studying helplessness in dogs, Richards notes. In an early experiment, he put dogs into a cage from which they could not escape and subjected them to mild shocks. After some effort to get out, the dogs would give up trying and lay down. Later, he put them into a cage from which they could easily escape and subjected them to the same mild shocks.
But it was too late. The dogs would just lie down and give up. They had learned helplessness and hopelessness, a trait, Seligman believes, that most people share but many can overcome.
Research has shown that certain life events seem to knock people right off their feet. The two biggies are the loss of a spouse and loss of a job. It takes as many as five years for a widow to regain her previous sense of well-being and the effects of a job loss linger long after the individual has returned to the work force.
But much of this is determined by your outlook, Seligman maintains. For instance ...
- Pessimists believe negative events will be permanent, while optimists prefer to view them as temporary.
- Pessimists believe negative events are universal, affecting everything they do. Optimists realize that they’re usually specific and limited to individual circumstances.
- Optimists acknowledge that many events are simply beyond their control, while pessimists believe they’re entirely responsible for all the negative events that beset them.
Where do you fit in?
Posted by: Dave Lavier | May 27, 2021 12:52:19 PM
Ive been looking for a place to post my thoughts, on the big bank bailouts,heres what i think.i think while the banks are getting forgiveness and are now being rewarded for their mistakes ,the rest of us are still strugling,day to day everyday,while these people maintain their rich stile of living,beautiful houses,nice cars nice clothes,you know,anyways it should be the people of canada ,and all countrys, who get the forgiveness ,all bad credit from the past,should be also forgiving,there should be a clean slate for everyone,so we can all have a chance, to rebuild by doing this ,it will get jobs rolling get stores making money more houses will be built, new cars will be sold, things would get better very quick,the longer goverments wait to do this,the longer we will stay in turmoil.we might never recover,unless there is forgiveness for all not just a chosin few just my thoughts thankyou,,,...Dave Lavier
Posted by: Robert | May 29, 2021 6:57:28 AM
Dave
What a negative attitude.
Why should everyone who screwed up and created bad debt for themselves be forgiven and have those who didn't screw up pay for their errors?
I didn't screw up. I didn't buy stuff on credit that I could not afford so why should I pay for someone else who is out there enjoying their expensive car and house.
Why should people get to keep the expensive goodies that they could not afford in the first place while some other poor smuck pays the bills for them and listens to them whine about how life is unfair to them?
Just my 2 cents worth
Posted by: Bailout For The Struggling | May 29, 2021 7:29:20 AM
I totally get Dave's point..completely! Whereas i do not think the first response to Dave got it at all..well unless they are one of those benifitting from thos ebailout packages.
Posted by: Robert (not the same Robert of May 29) | May 29, 2021 8:57:10 AM
When you get out of bed in the morning you have the choice: believe that you will have a good day or believe you will have a bad day. I believe that everyone would chose to have a good day. Obvioulsly there are so many external forces out of your control, like pessimists, traffice jams, grouchy people...that make it difficult to maintain that optimism. It does not just happen, you need to work at it...but it is rewarding when you can fend off those feelings of anger and believe that every small measure of "good" can produce a more optimistic you. You feel better about yourself and that is what it's all about. You do not have to be rich and famous to be an optimist.
Posted by: Dave Lavier | Jun 13, 2021 7:42:10 PM
thanks for replying what i guess i mean is ,, while those of us that are in situations that were created by those who are now being rewarded for thier mistakes, that have put thousands or millions of us out of work.world wide ,and maybe we got caught up in the dream,only to have our jobs disappear put us in a financial nightmare ,and lose everything we own ,,i just think if we were somehow find another job that we might be able to start fresh without old burdens hanging over our heads ,it makes it impossible for the average person to get the break that those responsible for this get a get out of jail free card and then get a big fat bonous to boot,, get rid of credit info and let us all start over ,if you now have another job,and are now able to recommitt, i for one could use a home for my kids,i pay rent every month but cant get a morgage,,due to world collapse i dont know i just think we all could use a break dont you