Learned Optimism

I just picked up a book from the library last week called Learned Optimism by Martin Seligmen.  Wow, it’s remarkable.  I’m only a few chapters in, but the similarities between his findings, and buddhism are incredible.  What makes it all the more interesting is the science behind it, and our society today – with depression leading the way.  His website Authentic Happiness has self tests which are interesting, such as the happiness test, and the Optimism test.  I like to think of myself as an optimist, and my results reflected that I am not as optimist as I thought.  Which follows that I over estimated or was overly optimist about my optimism!  Ha!  On the permission to optimism scale I am average to moderately over optimistic.

He talks about learned helplessness.  How we can learn to be helpless to our life situations, and behaviours so fundamentally then we can unlearn helplessness to.

“When you are living in darkness, why don’t you look for the light?”

- The Dhammapada

Learned helplessness, and learned optimism remind me of a buddhist teaching that has made the biggest difference to my life – that while we may not be able to choose what happens to us, or choose our obstacles, we can choose how we react to them.

“If you are determined to think of yourself as limited, fearful, vulnerable, or scarred by past experience, know only that you have chosen to do so.  The opportunity to experience yourself differently is always available.”

- Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche