h/t Kevin Jones Resilience is associated with realistic optimism, not the rose-colored form. Because the latter often involves ignoring negative information, people who adopt an overly buoyant outlook tend to underestimate stressful and risky situations. On the other hand, realistic optimists filter out unnecessary negative information but pay close attention to bad news that is relevant to dealing with adversity. Using a technique called cognitive-bias modification, you can, with repetitive training, learn to tune out negative words and occurrences and develop a habit of interpreting ambiguous situations in a more positive manner [see “The Essence of Optimism,” by Elaine Fox; Scientific American Mind, January/February 2013].
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 20:03:21 +0000