1. Optimism vs Pessimism

2. Positive Psychology
Psychology that measures, understands, and then builds the human strengths and the civic virtues.
Mix of humanism and scientific methodology
Pillar #1: Positive emotions
Pillar #2: Positive character
Pillar #3:Positive groups, communities, and cultures

3. Excessive Optimism
How can having too much optimism cause problems for people?

4. Explanatory Styles The way we explain events in our lives
Falls into 3 categories:
Permanence
Pervasiveness
Personal
We can have an optimistic or pessimistic perspective for each

5. Permanence
The belief that life events will have a permanent effect on us
Optimists believe bad events are temporary and good events are permanent
Pessimists believe the opposite is true– bad=permanent, good=temporary

6. Pervasiveness
The belief that life events have a ripple-effect impacts on other areas of life
Optimists believe that good experiences will spill over into other areas
Bad events are isolated to one circumstance.
Pessimists believe bad events impact other areas in life.

7. Personal
The belief that life events are due to some personality trait that is unchangeable
Optimists believe that good events are personal while bad events are due to circumstances.
Pessimists believe good events are circumstantial and bad events are due to personal faults.

8. Battling the Pessimist in All of Us….
There are strategies to help us cope with the negativity that sometimes flows through our mind
Alternative seeking: come up with alternatives that are more optimistic
Evidence seeking: cite evidence that disputes negative thoughts like “I am stupid.”
De-catastrophizing: come up with reasons why the situation is not the end of the world