Previously I talked about how both optimism and pessimism can be useful to you, depending on the circumstances you find yourself in.
But is it really possible to alter the way you see the world quickly and easily?
The answer is yes.
Pessimism and optimism are not a part of your genetic makeup. They are learned responses based on your environment, your family, and your experiences while you were growing up.
And if they are learned responses, then they can be unlearned and relearned.
At the very least it’s possible to adjust your interpretations of events, making them less pessimistic and more optimistic (or the other way around, if that’s what you prefer).
To understand how this can be done, let’s take a look at the dimension of optimism and pessimism called explanatory style.
What’s Your Explanatory Style?
Explanatory style has to do with how we explain and interpret the events of our lives, both good and bad.
(Good events are events that we want to have more of in our lives, while bad events are events that we don’t want to have.)
