If you’re wondering how to be optimistic, if you want to see the glass half full, you’re looking for solutions to move forward and get through all situations. You view adversity and obstacles as temporary situations so you persevere because you have confidence in the future. Optimist or pessimist: which side are you on?
The quest for happiness is universal. But access happiness is a complex subject, to which many health professionals, philosophers and researchers are trying to answer.
The genetics of optimism
The dazzling evolution of science and technology over the last 30 years has simplified many things: traveling to the other side of the world, working remotely with collaborators from all countries, communicating more and more quickly, accessing information in an increasingly simple way. Everything seems easier and easier. And yet we desperately seek recipe for happiness…
In the same way that some have the gene for blue eyes, is it possible that some have a predisposition to be happy, this ability to wear a positive outlook on the world allowing a more cheerful reading of the world in some way?
We know well that a glass half full is seen as half empty by individuals who are described as “pessimists”.
But then, what makes some people perceive it as half empty and others as half full? And above all, if we see it half empty, can we learn to see that glass half full and become more receptive to happiness?
How to be optimistic?
The way we look at the world is fundamental in determining our perception of our environment or the events we experience. This look at life will be forged by our education, our childhood, the words we heard about ourselves and others.
But what the positive psychology taught us is that this look can evolve once we understand a few fundamentals:
- Noticing the negative is a well-known human tendency in psychology, called negativity bias. The human species is biologically programmed to pay more attention to bad news than to good news, quite simply because we are a species that was built on the instinct for survival and knowing how to spot danger. Negative information allows us to protect ourselves.
- Use high-impact words positive like beautiful, good or even good, positively influences our brain. Setting ourselves positive challenges also has a favorable impact on our willpower. A positive formulation will lead us to implement behaviors that go in this direction. This will allow us a positive anchor towards this change of outlook.
- Express your gratitude towards the little things in life also has an impact on our brain. Recognizing what is going well and saying thank you for what good happens to us encourages us to perceive more. The more we direct our attention towards good things, the more we will notice them in our environment; it is a nourishing philosophy of life.
Write down every evening what made you happy
If you want to see the glass half full, try to change your point of view. You can achieve this by practicing with a little writing exercise…
Every evening, before going to bed, take the time to remember what gave you pleasure during the day, what brought you pride or satisfaction. Try to find three every night because if there are only one or two, it could mean that these moments are exceptions.
Do a little visualization to replay those moments in your head and take notes in a notebook to act out what you feel. The only rule here is to never add “ even if » or “while”. Note only the positive !
Over time, your brain will get used to no longer object when you express your joy, your pride or your satisfaction.
Seeing happiness in everything is an ability that works like a physical activity : it only produces results if it is practiced regularly.
If our brain is naturally formatted to retain the negative, then we must retrain it to perceive the positive. To do this, it’s just about training ourselves to perceive the world differently and to express ourselves differently.
Yes, seeing the glass half full is within your reach and that of each of us.
