Optimism
Subject in Mental Health
Optimism has come up in 1 episode across 1 podcast in TMT, including Modern Wisdom. 1 person has made recorded remarks about it.
What people said
Martin SeligmanPsychologist known for learned helplessness research, author of a forthcoming book on agency
Seligman recommends realistically disputing catastrophic automatic thoughts, saying it makes people more optimistic and less depressed months later.
“When you learn to become a good disputer of automatic thoughts, pessimism changes to optimism, and it's fun”
Modern Wisdom: Positive Psychology Founder: How To Stop Your Negative Thoughts - Martin Seligman - #1167 (Oct 24, 2026) · Listen from 20:35
Seligman contends that pessimism is an evolutionary inheritance while optimism must be learned.
“So being negative, being a pessimist comes naturally. What does not come naturally and needs learning is being an optimist”
Modern Wisdom: Positive Psychology Founder: How To Stop Your Negative Thoughts - Martin Seligman - #1167 (Oct 24, 2026) · Listen from 18:06
Podcasts
- Modern Wisdom · 1 episode
Episodes
Positive Psychology Founder: How To Stop Your Negative Thoughts - Martin Seligman - #1167Modern Wisdom · Oct 24, 2026 · 1 h 21 min
Chris Williamson talks with psychologist Martin Seligman about learned helplessness, optimism, his new book Agency, AI and creativity, and the Axial Age.