A woman holding up happy and sad face masks.
Optimists have a significant advantage in life: they see the world as full of potential, so they experience more joy, lower stress, stronger coping skills, better physical health, and greater persistence in pursuing their goals. They also have a serendipity mindset, making them more likely to take advantage of lucky breaks and fortunate circumstances. Because when you are on the lookout for positivity, more of it will come your way.
Even though life is easier for the optimist, pessimists will proudly say that they refuse to adopt that mindset because they are living in the “real world” and all of the Pollyanna stuff is garbage. However, for those who would like to change and begin to enjoy the benefits of seeing the glass as half full rather than half empty, it’s as easy as embracing the 3 Ps.
Dr. Martin Seligman, one of the founders of the positive psychology movement, says people can build a resilient, positive outlook on life through a better understanding of personalization, pervasiveness, and permanence. To put it simply, the pessimist and the optimist have opposite reactions to negative experiences, and through the 3 Ps, we can learn to react positively.
Dr. Martin Seligman.via U.S. Department of Defense/Wikimedia Commons
What are Dr. Martin Seligman’s 3 Ps?
1. Personalization:
A pessimistic person tends to blame themselves whenever something unfortunate happens, thinking, “It’s all my fault.” However, the optimist sees things in their totality, recognizing that it was a series of events that led up to the situation. “A lot of things went into this moment, so it’s not entirely my fault.”
2. Pervasiveness:
A pessimist sees a mistake and thinks their entire life is a failure. But an optimist sees it as an isolated incident, and one they can probably learn from.
3. Permanence:
After the unfortunate incident, a pessimist sees it as proof that bad events are never-ending and can’t be stopped, and thinks they will never get over the setback. An optimist recognizes that everything is temporary and things will surely get better.
A man sitting next to himself on the couch.via Canva/Photos
Now, let’s put this into practice. Let’s say that you got into a minor fender-bender where you hit the car in front of you at a stoplight.
Instead of thinking, “It’s all my fault,” and “I can’t trust myself to drive without getting into an accident, and "I will always be a terrible driver." You can think to yourself, “It wasn’t all my fault because I got distracted by something on the radio,” and “I can get better at paying attention,” so that this doesn’t happen again.
The great Henry David Thoreau once said, “The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” Optimists and pessimists are both looking at the same situation, and one is seeing it beneficially, while the other is allowing their worldview to hold them back. Sure, optimists may be a little naive to think that things will always turn out OK, But without them, we wouldn’t have anyone to try to make things better.