Learned Optimism

By Martin E. P. Seligman,

Book cover of Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life

Book description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER ā€¢ The father of positive psychology draws on more than twenty years of clinical research to show you how to overcome depression, boost your immune system, and make yourself happier.

"Vaulted me out of my funk.... So, fellow moderate pessimists, go buy this book." ā€”The New York Timesā€¦

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Why read it?

3 authors picked Learned Optimism as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Known as the father of the new science of Positive Psychology, Dr. Martin Seligman shows how optimism enhances quality of life. He refutes the idea that some people are simply born more optimistic and shares how anyone can adopt a more positive outlook on life. This book is filled with simple techniques to break depression, boost your immune system and make you happier.

Learned Optimism offers simple, straightforward solutions to help anyone embrace a healthier mindset as they face and embrace challenging times. Applying the content of this book, anyone can learn to view life through a different lens, changingā€¦

From Randy's list on the best way to find happiness.

Optimism, studies show, is a great longevity booster: it can add anywhere between four to ten years of life. Iā€™m a bit of a neurotic worry-wart and I used to believe I was doomed to stay that way (goodbye extra ten years of life!). Yet Seligmanā€™s well-researched book showed me there was hope: most people can learn how to become more optimisticā€”with all its health benefits. Although Iā€™m still not a Pollyanna, this book certainly helped me become a more ā€œglass-half-fullā€ kind of person. 

Seligman pioneered work in ā€œlearned helplessnessā€, which provides invaluable insight into we different people respond so differently to similar challenges or experiences. With his interpretations of this work and more, Seligman creates a guide for changing the way we interpret our circumstances, learning how to create a sense of control, and consequently how to not only enjoy our lives more but to determine their course effectively. 

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