… or how to live with a clear outlook !

 

Whether it’s a way of thinking or a sense of confidence—whether in the present or looking toward the future—optimism is an attitude characterized by hope. When you’re optimistic, you feel that positive things will happen and that things can change for the better.

 

This can apply to how you view the future or how you make sense of the world.

 

Unlike other emotions that fluctuate throughout the day, optimism is essentially a personality trait, and unless you work on it intentionally, it generally remains stable over time.

There are three main types of optimism you’ll encounter in everyday life: “ ” dispositional optimism  , “ ” explanatory optimism  , and “ ” unrealistic optimism  .

 

1. Dispositional Optimism

 

When people with an optimistic mindset think about the future, they acknowledge that they may face challenges but ultimately believe they will find a solution. That’s already a good thing: at least we don’t give up! 

 

 

2. Explanatory Optimism

 

As the name suggests, this type of optimism—which can vary in intensity—helps explain why certain things happen to you…

 

If you have high explanatory optimism, you’ll take the good things that happen to you personally and be confident that they’ll continue to happen. Conversely, you’ll believe that the bad things that happen to you aren’t necessarily your fault and won’t inevitably happen again.

 

For example, a person with high explanatory optimism who succeeds in their first startup will attribute their success to hard work and see it as a good sign for the future. A person with low explanatory optimism will say it was just a fluke.

 

Explanatory optimism differs from dispositional optimism in that it is a thinking pattern rather than a part of your personality. In other words, it is a habit that can be changed through deliberate practice.

 

 

3. Unrealistic Optimism

 

Sometimes, feeling optimistic about the future is part of a thought pattern that isn’t entirely logical: this is called unrealistic optimism. It refers to the way we tend to expect (that everything will go as planned) … without taking Murphy’s Law into account:

 

“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible moment.”

 

“The probability of something happening is inversely proportional to how desirable it is.”

 

 

What makes a person optimistic or not?

 

Just like most other psychological traits, both genetics and upbringing (our environment) contribute to “dispositional” optimism.

 

To enhance these innate or acquired dispositions:

When you take the time to imagine that things are going as well as possible in your life, it’s easier to feel optimistic.

“The key to the positive effects of optimism lies in what you do, not in what you believe.” This means you don’t need to be an optimist; you need to “practice” optimism. You can “practice optimism,” for example, by trying a little longer to solve a problem or by choosing to look at a situation from multiple angles or from more positive angles than usual.

On the Right Balance of Things

 

Optimism, then, is the belief in a better future. So when both the pessimist and the optimist are laid off, the former sees it as the beginning of a nightmare  ; the latter, as the start of new adventures. One event, two perspectives. The fact is that, until proven otherwise, we are still in control of our beliefs—including those about the future.

 

So, why not put our trust in the future?