Learning Optimism

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." -Winston Churchill

In 1967, pyschologists Martin Seligman and Steven Maier made an unusual disovery while experimenting with classically-conditioned dogs. They found that dogs which had been repeatedly exposed to random, mild electric shocks proved incapable of escaping the shocks when opportunities were later presented. Interestingly, this did not prove the case with dogs which had not been previously shocked, or those which had been shocked but also given the power to stop the shocks by touching a button. In short, the dogs which experienced random, inescapable shocks proved helpless against later shocks when opportunities for escape became available. They had, according to Seligman, "learned helplessness."

Dr. Seligman later proved the existence of "learned helplessness" in humans, suggesting in his 1998 work "Learned Optimism" that a habitual, negative "explanatory style" could lead humans to feeling helpless even in the face of contrary evidence. In other words, how you regularly interpret adversity plays a strong role in shaping your ability to adapt to novel circumstances (source). In this way, Seligman contends--much like Sharon Begley, author of the the work "Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain" (summary here)--that "how you think" shapes "how you feel." Accordingly, just as it appears possible to "learn" helplessness, it is also possible, as the title of Dr. Seligman's book suggests, to "Learn[-] Optimism." 

What can we learn from this? In short, that the way we "talk" with ourselves about events shapes our perceptions of how we might act (or fail to act) so to positivly affect them later. Thoughts can therefore both empower and repress that vital energy which goes into everything we do, from studying for finals to acting kindly to a stranger. So the next time you "talk" about adversity with yourself, I encourage you to consider the tone and language you use; in short, to "see the opportunity in every difficulty," rather than "the difficulty in every opportunity."

Happy Tuesday :)