Is the glass half full or half empty? Optimists and pessimists perceive the world quite differently. This has significant implications for how you live life and what kind of relationship you have with significant others in your life.
Dr. Martin Seligman, noted psychological researcher and author, in his book LEARNED OPTIMISM, describes the difference between pessimists and optimists.
Pessimists tend to believe bad events will last a long time,
will undermine everything they do, and are their own fault.
Optimists tend to believe defeat is just a temporary setback
in this one case and is not their fault.
Pessimists give up more easily, get depressed more often, get sick
more often, have higher stress levels, and die earlier.
Optimists accept the challenge and try harder, network better, make more
money, and live longer and happier.
Pessimists are hard to be around. They emphasize what’s wrong,
blame others, and lament the life situation in front of them. They
are the people you want to say: “Would you like some cheese with
that whine?”
Optimists are better at using cognitive reasoning to dispute self
defeating beliefs. They don’t allow themselves to get into a funk
that lasts very long. They are resilient and accept the challenge to
excel at whatever challenge presents itself.
Many years ago I wrote a paper called “Love: the Quintessence of Being”, related to personality type. The emphasis was on personal behavioral environment and its affect onan individual’s personality. In it I stated that people that are negative, lazy, bigoted, angry, or unforgiving are to be avoided. As the oracle “Desiderata” states, they are “vexations of the spirit.”
Quantum physics helps us to understand that how we perceive and act has a lot to do with effecting the direction of our reality. Good intentions, prayerful thoughts, facilitate good things happening and minimize negative results.
To the extent that you can learn to be optimistic to that extent will your life have a higher probability of happiness and success = a preferred way of perceiving, feeling, and acting. Look again at that glass!
Dr. Stathas can be reached at 706-473-1780. E-mail: jstathas13@gmail.com. Web site: drstathas.googlepages.com. Blog: drstathas.com
Dr. Stathas can be reached at 706-473-1780. Email: jstathas13@gmail.com. Web site: drstathas.googlepages.com. Blog: drstathas.com
