Hey. Welcome back to your daily mindfulness. Today, we're going to discuss how to become more of an optimist. Now, I'm not one to push the idea of always look on the bright side. I think it's very important to give ourselves permission to feel what we're feeling, even if that sometimes includes anger and negativity.

But, this doesn't mean we can't condition our mind in a particular way to lead to things that we know create more wellbeing. When it comes to optimism and pessimism, there are a lot of research-based benefits supporting the improved wellbeing that comes with an optimistic outlook. So, I'm going to name some of those. Just have a listen and see what it's like to hear this. Those who are more optimistic, have fewer symptoms of depression, lower levels of stress, better cardiovascular health, lower risk of Alzheimer's, more resilience, greater productivity, they're more kind and compassionate, and they have better sleep and they also have longer life span.

So, I think most humans can get on board with wanting more of those benefits. But what do we do if we're a little more pessimistic? Is it fixed, or are we doomed? Fortunately, that answer is no. Optimism is something we can develop, no matter what stage we're at, and no matter how pessimistic we might be. According to the famous psychologist, Dr. Martin Seligman, who wrote the book Learned Optimism, there are three specific things that separate an optimist from a pessimist.

He calls them the three P's. When we're more pessimistic, we view things as permanent, personal and pervasive. So what does this look like? Well, imagine a negative event you recently went through or are going through. If you were to view this event as permanent, there would be a sense that this will last forever. If you were to view it as personal, it might feel like this is my fault, or this has to do with me.

This is something about me. If you were to view it as pervasive, there would be this feeling like, my life always goes like this or things never go my way. Permanent, personal and pervasive. Can you see how that might lead to extra anxiety, sadness and depression? So, if a pessimist views things as permanent, personal and pervasive, what does an optimist do? Well, an optimist, instead of viewing an experience permanent, they see it as temporary, instead of viewing it as personal, they are able to see that, there are a lot of variables at play that could lead to this thing happening. And instead of viewing it as pervasive, they see this as being situational and not a representation of their entire life.

So, in today's meditation, we're going to practice specifically working with these three P's, so that you can cultivate more of an optimistic orientation toward the difficult things in your life or something that you're going through right now. And you'll be able to experience the improved life benefits that come with greater optimism. Thank you for your practice and we'll talk to you shortly. Take care.