EXERCISE 15.4

Optimism

The Optimistic Explanation

Purpose

To help participants explore the way they explain the events that happen to them in life and to understand how that dynamic affects their optimism and, ultimately, their success.

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25 to 30 minutes

Each participant will read the brief scenarios in the handout and do his or her best to imagine that what happened in the vignette actually happened. Participants will then write explanations of why each point in the story occurred the way it did and be given a key for analyzing the significance of their responses.

Outcome

This exercise will teach participants how their explanatory styles influence their optimism and how they can modify their styles to change the results they get in the world.

Audience

• Intact team
• Unaffiliated group
• Individual working with a coach

Facilitator Competencies

Moderate

Materials

• The Optimistic Explanation Handout
• Paper and pens

Time Matrix

Activity	Estimated Time
Explain optimism using handout	5 minutes
Scenario One	5 minutes
Scenario Two	5 minutes
Group discussion or individual reflection	10–15 minutes
Total	25 to 30 minutes

Instructions

1. Provide participants with paper, pens, and The Optimistic Explanation Handout.

2. Explain optimism, drawing on the explanation in Part Two of this book and the analysis section of the handout.

3. Instruct the participants to read the two scenarios and write their explanations of what caused the events as if they really happened to them.

4. Convene the full group to debrief the experience. Sample questions you might begin with include:

• What was your experience as you worked with the two scenarios?
• What did you learn that would benefit your work and life as a whole?
• Do you find that, when you’re more optimistic, it is easier to solve problems?

THE OPTIMISTIC EXPLANATION HANDOUT

Analysis

The explanations of causality that we offer hinge on three critical dynamics, and these ultimately determine how optimistic or pessimistic a person is. This concept is discussed by Martin Seligman (1990) in Learned Optimism. We explain these three concepts as follows:

1. Permanence—We perceive the causes of events in our lives to either be temporary or permanent. “I never remember to fill my gas tank” is permanent. “I forgot to fill my tank yesterday” is a temporary explanation.

2. Pervasiveness—“People who make universal explanations for their failures give up on everything when a failure strikes in one area. People who make specific explanations may become helpless in that one part of their lives, yet march stalwartly on in the others” (Seligman, 1990, p. 46).

3. Personalization—When bad things happen, humans either attribute the cause to other people or to circumstances (externalization) or we attribute it to ourselves (internalization). When we blame ourselves, it tends to erode our self-esteem. When we blame others or external circumstances, we don’t lose self-esteem, but persistent blaming of others can become problematic in itself because it is inherently disempowering, and other people will begin to reject us if we never take responsibility for the effects we cause. Appropriate reality testing is an excellent tool for helping maintain the desired balance.

Here is the formula for optimism: When you are explaining positive events, you want them to be permanent, universal, and internal. For example, “All the good things that happen in my life are always a result of my faith (internal) in our Creator.” When you are explaining negative events you want them to be temporary, specific, and external. For example, “The flat tire I had today (specific) was the result of some nails that were spilled on the highway (external).” Contrast that with, “I always (permanent) get flat tires because I (internal) can never (permanent) avoid all the road hazards out there.”

How do these kinds of explanations compare with the ones you usually use to explain what happens in your life? If you want to be more optimistic, and hence more successful, practice changing the way you use these three dynamics when you explain the causes of both the positive and negative events in your life.

Read the two scenarios that follow and explain the causes that contributed to each step in the story as if they happened to you. Apply the three dynamics of optimism you just reviewed as you make up your explanations.

Scenario One

1. You are reading an article in the newspaper and see a display ad that says “Wanted . . . Good Problem Solvers.”

2. Although you already have a job, you call them, and they sound like they are interested in you right away.

3. You schedule an interview and find the office where you apply to be friendly, well-appointed, and easy to get to. When you find out what kind of work they do, it’s almost like a dream come true!

4. The pay is significantly better than your current job, so you accept the position and begin to have the best work experience of your entire life.

Make up an explanation of why each step happened the way it did as if this story actually happened to you. In Number 1, for example, you might write: “I’ve always been a curious person who follows up on unusual things that catch my eye . . . like an ad for “Good Problem Solvers.” Write your answers below.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Scenario Two

1. You are on the way to meet someone you’re really interested in for a date, and your car runs out of gas.

2. You manage to get a ride to a gas station and call the restaurant, leaving a message that you will be about half an hour late. It takes a long time to get back to your car and it’s closer to an hour when you finally arrive.

3. Your date is still there, but obviously not too happy. The conversation drags and you can’t seem to stop apologizing.

4. When the check comes, you insist on paying as the least you can do, and your date finally chuckles and seems to lighten up.

5. Unfortunately, the waiter returns saying your credit card has been declined and their policy, as the signs clearly state, is “Absolutely no checks!” You have only $3 in cash, and your date ends up paying the bill.

Make up an explanation of why each step happened the way it did as if this story actually happened to you.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Examine the explanations that you made for the causes of each event in the two scenarios. Were they permanent or temporary? Universal or specific? Internal or external? Do you feel more optimistic?

REFERENCE

Seligman, M. (1990). Learned optimism. New York: Pocket Books.