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Top positive review
26 people found this helpful
5.0 out of 5 starslike how we can live happier
ByAnthony C.on November 27, 2016
I was introduced to Martin Seligman during a University class called "Positive Psychology". To those that are unfamiliar with the sub-field, positive psychology is an offshoot of traditional psychology. It focuses on different aspects of psychology, like how we can live happier, healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives.
Learned Optimism sets out on a quest to change a fundamental aspect of human personality. While we have all been asked the question, "Is the glass half empty or half full?", who knew a book could help change your answer? Is that an overstatement? Absolutely not.
Seligman explains that people have different ways of explaining events. When an event happens, it can be seen as neutral. The milk spilled; WE are the ones who say that is a 'good' or 'bad' thing. While many self help books try to address the issue of positivity, they advocate blindly holding an optimistic attitude. I have read many pop psychology and self help books, ranging from "The Power of Positive Thinking" to "How to Win Friends and Influence People", to "Think and Grow Rich" (I'm still trying this one - no luck so far). Some of these self-help books advocate an almost faith-based approach to changing one's behavior. Simply will something, and if you desire it enough, you can manifest it! Allow your inner thoughts and desires to carve out your external world! Think positive and you can do anything!
I believe Zig Ziglar said that no matter how positive somebody was, if they aren't a certified cardiovascular surgeon, he wouldn't trust them to give him open heart surgery! I agree, and I think positive thinking without realism, prudence, and planning is pointless. In Learned Optimism, this problem is addressed. Seligman points out that being positive isn't something you turn on and keep on 24/7. When a bad thing happens, an optimistic person doesn't paint over it, declaring "It will be totally fine, I'm happy!". The difference is that an innate optimist would say that negative events are external and temporary.
This distinction is an incredible revelation, and we all do this to an extent! When treated rudely, perhaps by a clerk, a pessimist might declare that "People are rude, this is the way things are.", and that the clerk "Was a jerk". They might be upset or offended, taking the clerk's actions as an attack toward them. An optimist, according to Seligman, THINKS differently. They might say "THIS (particular) Clerk is acting rude." He or she "must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed."
This difference in explanatory style was the key concept I took away from this book. While events simply occur, one's interpretation can be positive or negative. So if it's a choice, then how do we change from being pessimistic to being optimistic?
You'll have to read the book to find out. Either way, just know that while positive psychology is a new field, I gained more from this scientifically accredited book than I did reading 5 self-help books. Apply the concepts and principles within, and you might just surprise yourself! :)
Learned Optimism sets out on a quest to change a fundamental aspect of human personality. While we have all been asked the question, "Is the glass half empty or half full?", who knew a book could help change your answer? Is that an overstatement? Absolutely not.
Seligman explains that people have different ways of explaining events. When an event happens, it can be seen as neutral. The milk spilled; WE are the ones who say that is a 'good' or 'bad' thing. While many self help books try to address the issue of positivity, they advocate blindly holding an optimistic attitude. I have read many pop psychology and self help books, ranging from "The Power of Positive Thinking" to "How to Win Friends and Influence People", to "Think and Grow Rich" (I'm still trying this one - no luck so far). Some of these self-help books advocate an almost faith-based approach to changing one's behavior. Simply will something, and if you desire it enough, you can manifest it! Allow your inner thoughts and desires to carve out your external world! Think positive and you can do anything!
I believe Zig Ziglar said that no matter how positive somebody was, if they aren't a certified cardiovascular surgeon, he wouldn't trust them to give him open heart surgery! I agree, and I think positive thinking without realism, prudence, and planning is pointless. In Learned Optimism, this problem is addressed. Seligman points out that being positive isn't something you turn on and keep on 24/7. When a bad thing happens, an optimistic person doesn't paint over it, declaring "It will be totally fine, I'm happy!". The difference is that an innate optimist would say that negative events are external and temporary.
This distinction is an incredible revelation, and we all do this to an extent! When treated rudely, perhaps by a clerk, a pessimist might declare that "People are rude, this is the way things are.", and that the clerk "Was a jerk". They might be upset or offended, taking the clerk's actions as an attack toward them. An optimist, according to Seligman, THINKS differently. They might say "THIS (particular) Clerk is acting rude." He or she "must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed."
This difference in explanatory style was the key concept I took away from this book. While events simply occur, one's interpretation can be positive or negative. So if it's a choice, then how do we change from being pessimistic to being optimistic?
You'll have to read the book to find out. Either way, just know that while positive psychology is a new field, I gained more from this scientifically accredited book than I did reading 5 self-help books. Apply the concepts and principles within, and you might just surprise yourself! :)
Top critical review
51 people found this helpful
3.0 out of 5 starsPsychology
ByMilo1on August 28, 2010
This book was recommended to me by my psychologist, as an up and coming theory for treatment of depression. The author was inspired to study depression because of his own father's depression. "Learned optimism" is based on the idea of "learned helplessness," or the theory that if a person believes that he/she has no control over the bad things that happen to him/her--that bad things just occur randomly and for no reason--then the person gives up trying to find ways to make his/her life better and as a result he/she becomes depressed. "Learned optimism" is designed to teach a person with "learned helplessness" that while he/she might not have control over life's events, what he/she does have control of is his/her own thinking about those events. The book includes a questionnaire that is designed to test whether or not you suffer from depression. It can also be taken online, which I recommend, because it automatically scores the questionnaire for you. If you take it in the book, you have score it yourself, which can be a little complicated. The book then explains the significance of your score, and gives exercises to help you change the way you think about different events so that you begin to think more optimistically. It also has a children's section, with its own questionnaire. Because the author is an academic who has limited experience working with actual patients, his theories are based almost completely on research conducted in a laboratory. While I think that the book makes some good points and has some good suggestions, I think that rather than using this book as a means to an end, it could be used as a starting point for discussions between doctors and their patients in treatment. My main objection to the book is the adult questionnaire. You are told that even if you have not experienced an event, to guess what you would do based on your past experience in a similar event. I found that the description of some of the events were so vague that it is was difficult to decide what I would do in that situation, so I just randomly picked one answer. I found the children's questionnaire to be more relatable because I understood the situation better. There are also quite a few chapters based on the laboratory research and the comparison of the author's research with other research being conducted on the same subject. As a person who has suffered for many years with depression, I found the book to be limited in its usefulness to me. I think the causes of depression are much more complicated than those that are discussed in the book. With the years of personal counseling that I have been through, I feel that I understand myself and the roots of my depression pretty well, and have advanced beyond the theories in this book. Again, I think this would be an excellent book to use as a starting point for a patient who is just starting out in therapy for depression. All treatment needs to begin with a theory, and we need academics to continue to advance their theories for the use of doctors and patients in the field.
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ByAnthony C.on November 27, 2016
I was introduced to Martin Seligman during a University class called "Positive Psychology". To those that are unfamiliar with the sub-field, positive psychology is an offshoot of traditional psychology. It focuses on different aspects of psychology, like how we can live happier, healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives.
Learned Optimism sets out on a quest to change a fundamental aspect of human personality. While we have all been asked the question, "Is the glass half empty or half full?", who knew a book could help change your answer? Is that an overstatement? Absolutely not.
Seligman explains that people have different ways of explaining events. When an event happens, it can be seen as neutral. The milk spilled; WE are the ones who say that is a 'good' or 'bad' thing. While many self help books try to address the issue of positivity, they advocate blindly holding an optimistic attitude. I have read many pop psychology and self help books, ranging from "The Power of Positive Thinking" to "How to Win Friends and Influence People", to "Think and Grow Rich" (I'm still trying this one - no luck so far). Some of these self-help books advocate an almost faith-based approach to changing one's behavior. Simply will something, and if you desire it enough, you can manifest it! Allow your inner thoughts and desires to carve out your external world! Think positive and you can do anything!
I believe Zig Ziglar said that no matter how positive somebody was, if they aren't a certified cardiovascular surgeon, he wouldn't trust them to give him open heart surgery! I agree, and I think positive thinking without realism, prudence, and planning is pointless. In Learned Optimism, this problem is addressed. Seligman points out that being positive isn't something you turn on and keep on 24/7. When a bad thing happens, an optimistic person doesn't paint over it, declaring "It will be totally fine, I'm happy!". The difference is that an innate optimist would say that negative events are external and temporary.
This distinction is an incredible revelation, and we all do this to an extent! When treated rudely, perhaps by a clerk, a pessimist might declare that "People are rude, this is the way things are.", and that the clerk "Was a jerk". They might be upset or offended, taking the clerk's actions as an attack toward them. An optimist, according to Seligman, THINKS differently. They might say "THIS (particular) Clerk is acting rude." He or she "must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed."
This difference in explanatory style was the key concept I took away from this book. While events simply occur, one's interpretation can be positive or negative. So if it's a choice, then how do we change from being pessimistic to being optimistic?
You'll have to read the book to find out. Either way, just know that while positive psychology is a new field, I gained more from this scientifically accredited book than I did reading 5 self-help books. Apply the concepts and principles within, and you might just surprise yourself! :)
Learned Optimism sets out on a quest to change a fundamental aspect of human personality. While we have all been asked the question, "Is the glass half empty or half full?", who knew a book could help change your answer? Is that an overstatement? Absolutely not.
Seligman explains that people have different ways of explaining events. When an event happens, it can be seen as neutral. The milk spilled; WE are the ones who say that is a 'good' or 'bad' thing. While many self help books try to address the issue of positivity, they advocate blindly holding an optimistic attitude. I have read many pop psychology and self help books, ranging from "The Power of Positive Thinking" to "How to Win Friends and Influence People", to "Think and Grow Rich" (I'm still trying this one - no luck so far). Some of these self-help books advocate an almost faith-based approach to changing one's behavior. Simply will something, and if you desire it enough, you can manifest it! Allow your inner thoughts and desires to carve out your external world! Think positive and you can do anything!
I believe Zig Ziglar said that no matter how positive somebody was, if they aren't a certified cardiovascular surgeon, he wouldn't trust them to give him open heart surgery! I agree, and I think positive thinking without realism, prudence, and planning is pointless. In Learned Optimism, this problem is addressed. Seligman points out that being positive isn't something you turn on and keep on 24/7. When a bad thing happens, an optimistic person doesn't paint over it, declaring "It will be totally fine, I'm happy!". The difference is that an innate optimist would say that negative events are external and temporary.
This distinction is an incredible revelation, and we all do this to an extent! When treated rudely, perhaps by a clerk, a pessimist might declare that "People are rude, this is the way things are.", and that the clerk "Was a jerk". They might be upset or offended, taking the clerk's actions as an attack toward them. An optimist, according to Seligman, THINKS differently. They might say "THIS (particular) Clerk is acting rude." He or she "must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed."
This difference in explanatory style was the key concept I took away from this book. While events simply occur, one's interpretation can be positive or negative. So if it's a choice, then how do we change from being pessimistic to being optimistic?
You'll have to read the book to find out. Either way, just know that while positive psychology is a new field, I gained more from this scientifically accredited book than I did reading 5 self-help books. Apply the concepts and principles within, and you might just surprise yourself! :)
26 people found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 starsUnlike many "self help" books that are more well-intentioned than really useful, it isn't a 'recipe book' of step-by-step instru
ByLorretton September 30, 2015
I've bought this book for myself, most of my family and a whole slew of my friends. The first thing that impressed me about it was that it actually DEFINES depression, simply and straightforwardly, so it makes sense. Unlike many "self help" books that are more well-intentioned than really useful, it isn't a 'recipe book' of step-by-step instructions that "are supposed to" work for everybody. We all have different ways of implementing game plans, and this book respects the reader by recognizing that fact.
Instead of directing the reader's process, it follows the advice my teacher used to give me -- if you're struggling with an adversary, capture one of the enemy and interrogate it. The more you know about how it operates, the better you'll be at keeping it out of your way. It provides questionnaires that help with assessing the problem, both at the beginning and along the way (ALWAYS use a sheet of paper for the quizzes, so you can take them repeatedly and evaluate the changes you're making), and suggestions for strategies to get in touch with your feelings and construct a personal strategy for healing..
Instead of directing the reader's process, it follows the advice my teacher used to give me -- if you're struggling with an adversary, capture one of the enemy and interrogate it. The more you know about how it operates, the better you'll be at keeping it out of your way. It provides questionnaires that help with assessing the problem, both at the beginning and along the way (ALWAYS use a sheet of paper for the quizzes, so you can take them repeatedly and evaluate the changes you're making), and suggestions for strategies to get in touch with your feelings and construct a personal strategy for healing..
ByJackoon January 1, 2018
Everyone at risk of pessimism or depression, every parent should read this book. It makes perfect sense to me as a father of a teenage boy struggling with depression. The key take-way is: optimism is a choice, a learnable skill and attitude. It does not change facts. But it does change how you feel about and deal with them.
ByMilo1on August 28, 2010
This book was recommended to me by my psychologist, as an up and coming theory for treatment of depression. The author was inspired to study depression because of his own father's depression. "Learned optimism" is based on the idea of "learned helplessness," or the theory that if a person believes that he/she has no control over the bad things that happen to him/her--that bad things just occur randomly and for no reason--then the person gives up trying to find ways to make his/her life better and as a result he/she becomes depressed. "Learned optimism" is designed to teach a person with "learned helplessness" that while he/she might not have control over life's events, what he/she does have control of is his/her own thinking about those events. The book includes a questionnaire that is designed to test whether or not you suffer from depression. It can also be taken online, which I recommend, because it automatically scores the questionnaire for you. If you take it in the book, you have score it yourself, which can be a little complicated. The book then explains the significance of your score, and gives exercises to help you change the way you think about different events so that you begin to think more optimistically. It also has a children's section, with its own questionnaire. Because the author is an academic who has limited experience working with actual patients, his theories are based almost completely on research conducted in a laboratory. While I think that the book makes some good points and has some good suggestions, I think that rather than using this book as a means to an end, it could be used as a starting point for discussions between doctors and their patients in treatment. My main objection to the book is the adult questionnaire. You are told that even if you have not experienced an event, to guess what you would do based on your past experience in a similar event. I found that the description of some of the events were so vague that it is was difficult to decide what I would do in that situation, so I just randomly picked one answer. I found the children's questionnaire to be more relatable because I understood the situation better. There are also quite a few chapters based on the laboratory research and the comparison of the author's research with other research being conducted on the same subject. As a person who has suffered for many years with depression, I found the book to be limited in its usefulness to me. I think the causes of depression are much more complicated than those that are discussed in the book. With the years of personal counseling that I have been through, I feel that I understand myself and the roots of my depression pretty well, and have advanced beyond the theories in this book. Again, I think this would be an excellent book to use as a starting point for a patient who is just starting out in therapy for depression. All treatment needs to begin with a theory, and we need academics to continue to advance their theories for the use of doctors and patients in the field.
5.0 out of 5 starshas been practicing medicine in mental health for 40 years - top expert cracks the case on why you feel so bad so consistently a
ByColin Markiewiczon April 30, 2017
Probably the most important book I have ever read besides the bhagavad-gita. A must-read, for everyone. I am teaching my friends about learned optimism and learned helplessness, it has LITERALLY changed my life in ways I never thought imaginable. The author is the former chair of the American Psychiatric Association, has been practicing medicine in mental health for 40 years - top expert cracks the case on why you feel so bad so consistently and blows open the myths about mental health that saturate our current understanding of the mind.
ByE. Smakmanon May 8, 2014
Martin Seligman is the founder of positive psychology and the value of optimism. This book tells you all about why and how.
Optimism is not some vague positive idea about trying to see the good in situations, to see the world through rose-tainted glasses. This would be naive. Instead, he describes what benefits (in health, relationships and career) you get out of keeping a positive attitude, why that is the case and how to do something about this. Optimism is more justified 'self confidence', although that does the book injustice.
The core of the argument is actually the opposite, which is not 'pessimism', but helplessness. If you feel helpless in situations or your life, you will not attempt to change it and thus changes in your situation are unlikely to occur. You will not try to improve your performance, you will not try to solve your problems and you feel like a burden to the world. A feeling of helplessness can be created by circumstances in which you were helpless, and your mind has widened this feeling to encompass your entire life. A feeling of (general) helplessness is thus the first step towards a depression.
Learning to be optimistic actually means to see your failures as situational and temporary, and not necessarily (completely) your fault. Also you learn to process difficult times while staying optimistic by using the ABCDE-method: adversity (what happened) - Belief (what do you tell yourself about your role, what do you Think) - Consequence (what do you feel based on your thoughts) - Disputation (counterarguments against your first thoughts) - Energy (new energy and confidence coming from disputation).
I thoroughly recommend this book to every person with doubts or who knows people with doubts about themselves.
Optimism is not some vague positive idea about trying to see the good in situations, to see the world through rose-tainted glasses. This would be naive. Instead, he describes what benefits (in health, relationships and career) you get out of keeping a positive attitude, why that is the case and how to do something about this. Optimism is more justified 'self confidence', although that does the book injustice.
The core of the argument is actually the opposite, which is not 'pessimism', but helplessness. If you feel helpless in situations or your life, you will not attempt to change it and thus changes in your situation are unlikely to occur. You will not try to improve your performance, you will not try to solve your problems and you feel like a burden to the world. A feeling of helplessness can be created by circumstances in which you were helpless, and your mind has widened this feeling to encompass your entire life. A feeling of (general) helplessness is thus the first step towards a depression.
Learning to be optimistic actually means to see your failures as situational and temporary, and not necessarily (completely) your fault. Also you learn to process difficult times while staying optimistic by using the ABCDE-method: adversity (what happened) - Belief (what do you tell yourself about your role, what do you Think) - Consequence (what do you feel based on your thoughts) - Disputation (counterarguments against your first thoughts) - Energy (new energy and confidence coming from disputation).
I thoroughly recommend this book to every person with doubts or who knows people with doubts about themselves.
3.0 out of 5 starsThe classic book of "positive psychology," but needs more practical tools and guidance
This is a classic book about how to use positive thinking to change your life for the better. Author Martin Seligman is credited for creating "positive psychology," although I am sure the truth is actually more complicated than that. But Seligman certainly is the person who has put out the commercial books on the subject that the public has heard of. The problem with this book for me is that the title and description of the book: "Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Change Your Life," is not very accurate.
I found that most of the book discusses Seligman's career and prior research in psychology, then goes in to great detail about his research and what he has learned from it. But what is missing is the practical component, taking Seligman's research results and transforming them into instructions and advice that readers can actually use to improve their lives. The book is lacking in that area.
I found that most of the book discusses Seligman's career and prior research in psychology, then goes in to great detail about his research and what he has learned from it. But what is missing is the practical component, taking Seligman's research results and transforming them into instructions and advice that readers can actually use to improve their lives. The book is lacking in that area.
ByMPRon February 16, 2013
The research behind learned optimism is nothing short of life changing. If you are struggling (as perhaps many or all of us are?) with something difficult in your life that you would like to be more resilient or optimistic about, read this book. Most of the book describes the history of the research that lead up to the findings on optimism, as well as numerous chapters on how optimism was proven to be a positive thing for health, work and sports (in case you were still doubting it by the middle of the book). The actual applicable portion of the book (i.e. findings on how you can shift from pessimism to optimism) only take up a fraction of the book. That is the true meat here. You may be better off googling ABCDE method if you want to jump to application in your life. If you want a detailed read on the history and case studies for optimism, definitely read the book.
ByEmkinon August 9, 2018
I've read articles about Seligman's work, and was excited to listen to this book. Unfortunately, it's only availing as an audiobook in this abridged version. I found this book to be far too brief an introduction of the concept of learned optimism, and wish it were longer. Several concepts were introduced but not elaborated on. I'll guess I'll track down a paperback copy, but it's frustrating to buy the book twice.
ByJackie Paulsonon September 19, 2012
Learned Optimism will change the way you think about being negative. Martin Seligman was, "accustomed to focusing on what was wrong with people and then on how t fix it." He is known as the father of the new science of Positive Psychology, and draws on more than 20 years of experience as a clinical research Psychologist, to demonstrate how optimism enhances the quality of your life. He claims that when we practice techniques we can change. His overall theory talks about how to look at what was going right and how to make it even better! What a great way to think of things. I believe corporate America needs to get into this seat and drive!
This book will help you discover your own pessimistic tendencies, if you have them, or those of people you love and care about. It will introduce you to the techniques that have helped others undo lifelong habits of pessimism. You will look at your setbacks with new perceptiveness. I enjoyed learning from Martin Seligman and hope you do as well. © 2012 Jackie Paulson
This book will help you discover your own pessimistic tendencies, if you have them, or those of people you love and care about. It will introduce you to the techniques that have helped others undo lifelong habits of pessimism. You will look at your setbacks with new perceptiveness. I enjoyed learning from Martin Seligman and hope you do as well. © 2012 Jackie Paulson
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