Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #121453 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
Dr. Robert H. Schuller author of "Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do" One of the most important books of the century -- an absolute must-read for all persons interested in genuinely understanding and helping our fellow human beings.

Synopsis
Compiles scientific evidence that optimism is vital to overcoming defeat and exhibits how readers can learn the habit of optimism necessary for a successful and happy life.

Customer Reviews

Not your usual self help book.
Unlike most self help books Seligman's work is based on actual research. I would really recommend this book for people who are sick of the positive thinking movement but would still like some of the benefits. From the reviews here you might think this is just another Polyanna book. Seligman does not say that optimistic people are superior to others. In fact, he says that pessimists are more realistic. Optimists make good sales people, but you wouldn't want them to be elevator inspectors.

Seligman advocates mature optimism. Basically the higher the cost of being wrong, the more it pays to be a pessimist. With that said there are a host of benefits to be had from optimism.

Improving your thinking styles
The important message of this book is that optimistic thinking is a very important skill that can be learned. But what is meant by optimistic thinking in this book? Well, to make sense of what happens in their life, people tend to attach explanations to events after they have happened. This process is usually referred to as 'attribution'. Seligman describes how people differ in their explanatory style, in other words, they have different 'habits of explanation'. He distinguishes three dimensions of attribution: 1) permanence (is the cause of the event permanent or temporary?), 2) pervasiveness (is the cause of the event general or specific?), and 3) personalization (is the cause of the even internal -personal- or external - caused by the sitution?). The difference between optimists and pessimist can be described using these three dimensions.

Pessimists tend to believe that negative things that happen to them 1) will have a long-lasting effect, 2) will affect many situations, and 3) are caused by themselves. Also, when something positive happens the pessimist tends to explains this negatively by 1) thinking this is just temporary success, 2) won't help him in other situations than this specific one, 3) and is caused by the situation more than by his own competence.
Optimists explain situations exactly the other way around. They tend to think that negative events 1) are just a temporary setback, 2) only affect thìs situation, and 3) are externally caused (not their own fault). Positive things are also explained positively by the optimistic thinker. He will think 1) that the success will last long, 2) that the success will positively affect other situations as well, and 3) that the success was caused by his own doing.

What's the relevance of this? Pessimists, by their way of thinking, constantly tend to destroy their own hope and build self-blame en guilt. A pessimistic thinking style causes many problems: emotional problems, under-utilization of your potential, and health-problems. Thinking pessimistically is a dangerous habit. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy: by thinking you have no way of influencing a bad situation, this becomes true. Optimists, on the other hand, build hope and maintain a positive self-image. They perform better at school and/or work, and are, on average, healthier. If this sounds interesting to you, maybe you should read this book. It will help you to assess your own habits of explanation and helps you to develop the skill of thinking positively.

Coert Visser

USE OPTIMISM TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE IN PRACTICAL WAYS
While many books explain the personal benefits of "positive thinking", repeating positive mantras, and taking positive action, this book is critically important because it shows you just how much advantage an optimistic outlook provides. The evidence is so overwhelming that I found myself realizing that everyone needs to adopt more optimism in the important areas of their life. I liked the self-administered tests in the book for checking my optimism, that of my wife, and that of my children. I have always prided myself on being realistic, and still value that quality. What I learned is that being realistic should be combined with feeling optimistic about creating ways to improve the realistic situation as I understand it. That distinction is one that has been critically valuable in my life. I strongly recommend that you read this book, and share it with people you care about. For an organization, thinking about these issues could be a critical advantage.