Dispositional Optimism Research Paper

In the words of Winston Churchill, "The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." When we are optimistic that we can get a job done, or that we can find a cure for a disease, we are more motivated, and we work harder. A scientist who is pessimistic that they will never find a cure for a specific disease will have a mental mind block against finding a cure for a disease, making it considerably harder for them to find a cure. However, a scientist who is optimistic about finding a cure for a disease will be motivated and more focused on their dedication to discovering a cure for a disease such as cancer. When you are optimistic, you are more motivated, and when you are motivated, you are more productive, consequently making optimism a particularly important priority in everyday

In the same way that hope has colored the past, optimism and positive thinking has the ability to affect present situations. When enduring struggles or facing fears, hope can provide feelings of comfort. It can be used as a coping mechanism. Maya Angelou relates a tone of satisfaction when she weighs the conditions of her life

Notwithstanding the numerous advantages of pessimism, proven by studies, society continues to condemn it. This is particularly due to the fact that optimism is viewed as more superior, compared to pessimism. Author, Jon Gordon, reports, “‘Whether we feed ourselves each day with negative fuel or positive fuel … our optimism has a big impact on our day’” (Gordon). Gordon conveys the fact that, ultimately, optimism determines success, not pessimism. Additionally, Adam Sinicki, a psychology graduate, comments that remaining optimistic during strenuous times will help alleviate the situation because an individual is believing that matters will only mend (Sinicki). While there may be research to support these claims, the truth is, they fail to shed

An article written by Kendra Cherry states, “By nurturing positive emotions, even in the face of terrible events, people can reap both short-term and long-term rewards, including managing stress levels, lessening depression, and building coping skills that will serve them well in the future” (Cherry). Optimism has allowed for people to deal with conflicts in a healthy way. Neuroscientist Tali Sharot in her book The Science of Optimism: Why We’re Hard-Wired for Hope argues that optimism provides an adaptive advantage. According to her, “Expecting our future to be good reduces stress and anxiety, which is good for our health. Researchers studying heart attack patients have found that optimists were more likely than nonoptimistic patients to take vitamins, eat low-fat diets, and exercise, thereby reducing their overall coronary risk” (Popova). Dealing with conflicts positively is better for your health and it decreases bad health

Lang, explains through a series of scientific studies that pessimism can sometimes be a better form of seeing life than optimism. Throughout the article studies are being done on different age groups, the youngest group always shows a “sunny” outlook on life while the middle aged group is logical and realistic. Optimism has shown health complications and mental issues in older people (Lang, 2013). I usually do not think negatively about life, but as an improvement I should start seeing life for what it truly is, unpredictable and inconvenient in order to prevent a distasteful lifestyle in the

We don’t try hard enough or sacrifice ourselves to reach at our highest level of achievement. This is where the characteristic optimism comes useful to important situations or decisions in our lives. In one word, it’s best described as the predictor of success, which is

This is untrue due to the research conducted. It was found that people with higher expectations are happier. When they succeed they are happier and when they fail they strive to do better next time to get to their goal(s). The people who set lower expectations will not feel the same amount of happiness when they finish goal because of it being a low expectation. Another reason low expectations don’t work well is because they usually lack the anticipation of succeeding. The anticipation will make people generally happier and Dr. Sharot talks about Friday being the best day of the work week because of the anticipation of the weekend. She concludes with optimism being good because it makes you try harder and lowers stress and anxiety. Overconfidence while similar to optimism bias has its own effect on decision making. Overconfidence will usually make us think we are capable of completing tasks quickly that should take multiple days/hours. This overconfidence it what makes students say they think they can get the assignment done in one class period even though they haven't done that worksheet before. Belief perseverance is also a way our beliefs neglect the facts because of what we

Cambridge Dictionary (2016) defines Optimism as “the quality of being full of hope and emphasizing the good parts of a situation, or a belief that something good will happen” Cambridge Dictionary, 2016. To me, being optimistic can help any situation. For example, I work around 25 hours per week whilst studying full time, which results in me being stressed. Having a more positive behaviour towards my studies and work has helped me immensely with reducing my stress levels. Being a student, it can be very hard to deal with getting bad feedback or not finding the resources you need to complete a great assignment. I use my optimism to

Looking at the bright side and noticing what is right as opposed to what is wrong is not normal for most people. It is commonly thought that being optimistic is not being realistic and even though that is true for some people, there are ways to be optimistic in a healthy manner that can help one see life’s challenges realistically even when times get tough. Being optimistic is a skill that takes effort and thought but spending the time to work on cultivating optimism can be life changing. Cultivating optimism is one of the happiness enhancing strategies that has been shown to increase happiness levels and positive thoughts about the future, which is the concept which I experimented with when I conducted the Best Possible Selves activity.

Shawn Achor states that the most important key is to reverse thinking if you want to succeed in life. He says, “ Change our formula for happiness and success.” For example, our formula is like this: if you have a great job, you will be happy. If you get promoted, you will be happier. However, according to him, our brain requires the opposite order; you feel happy, and then it comes to success. He explains how the brain uses different mechanisms keeping up motivation positively, in order to perform much better. He mentions many advantages for work if you are optimistic.

Optimism is perhaps the most important quality that a person can possess, without optimism there would be no reason to work for a better life or point in fighting against evil and oppression. In times of adversity it is hope and optimism that leads people to see the light and the end of the tunnel and guides them towards better times. A true optimist believes that the opportunity for growth lies in trials and tribulations. Winston Churchill — Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War two who led the country during some of its darkest hours — captures this idea perfectly when he said “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist see the opportunity in every difficulty (Churchill).” It is evident that throughout history

Hopefulness is an example of deduction in which great occasions are clarified by components that are inside, changeless, and inescapable, while awful occasions are clarified by variables that are outside, brief, and constrained in extension. This identity style yields an all the more fulfilling life as well as an existence with less probability of misery as an aftereffect of either the bothers of day by day living or real life occasions.

Usually, when you think of an optimist, you might think of a bright cheery person wearing bright happy colors skipping happily down a sidewalk, right? And while that sounds like a wonderful way to live, that’s not quite how optimism always looks. (But hey, if it works for you, be my guest!) Optimism is often overlooked and misunderstood in today's society. We really have no idea how beneficial the effects of optimism are for us. From healthier hearts to even living longer, optimism sure is a helpful tool that’s easily accessible and makes the journey of life a lot more fun!

Throughout our lives, everybody faces difficulties and hardships. Everyone faces these difficulties in different ways. Being optimistic and having a positive outlook on life can help people cope with problems. Optimistic people have higher chances of successfully avoiding diseases, and when they do suffer from physical illness, they have a higher chance of fighting off viruses and staying healthy. Optimistic people also do a better job thinking clearly, which can help avoid depression and help them find solutions to problems. Positivity and optimism can help people endure and persevere through hardships and difficult times.

Being optimistic is the main principle for most people. We may often hear the statement about “be an optimist, not a pessimist!” shouted by people. Sometimes you do it for yourself too. When facing such a failure or problem, this will not only help to relieve your heart. Being optimistic will help someone to be healthy in physical and mental. An optimist will find the best way in any circumstance and hope for every good thing can come to him/her. You may have gone through thousands of hard times. However, if you are a born optimist then you will not care of anything destructing you.