LEARNED OPTIMISM BY MARTIN SELIGMAN

BOOK REVIEWS BY BINOD

BINOD’S RATING: 9/10

The classic and one of the most important books in psychology. I found myself highlighting almost every other paragraph!

Seligman is the father of positive psychology and his premise is simple: Talent is fixed. Motivation can be boosted (attend any seminar on positive thinking!!) but rarely lasts. Learned Optimism is the permanent edge and you can and should learn to be optimistic. Optimism has a massively positive effect on depression, physical health and achievement in academics, sports & work.

It’s all about the explanatory style picked up in childhood. Pessimists believe bad events are Permanent (it will persist), Pervasive (it affects everything) and Personal (it’s their fault). Optimism is about focusing on the changeable, the specific and the non-personal. The solution is through the ABCDE (Adversity, Belief, Consequences, Disputation, Energization) model. The benefits grow over time.

I see lots of indifferent or depressed individuals thanks to a society dominated by a search for individual perfection, lack of spirituality, easy mobility, collapsed institutions and lower family cohesion. This book is THE guide on how to turn yourself around without relying on drugs or doctors.

Nothing needs to be forever. You can chose the way you think.