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Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life [Paperback]

Martin E. P Seligman
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
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Book Description

14 Mar 2006
Known as the father of the new science of positive psychology, Martin E.P. Seligman draws on more than twenty years of clinical research to demonstrate how optimism enchances the quality of life, and how anyone can learn to practice it. Offering many simple techniques, Dr. Seligman explains how to break an “I—give-up” habit, develop a more constructive explanatory style for interpreting your behavior, and experience the benefits of a more positive interior dialogue. These skills can help break up depression, boost your immune system, better develop your potential, and make you happier..

With generous additional advice on how to encourage optimistic behavior at school, at work and in children, Learned Optimism is both profound and practical–and valuable for every phase of life.

Frequently Bought Together

Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life + Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realise Your Potential for Lasting Fulfilment + Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being - and How To Achieve Them
Price For All Three: £30.32

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Product details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage Books USA; Reprint edition (14 Mar 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1400078393
  • ISBN-13: 978-1400078394
  • Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 1.8 x 20.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 10,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

Dr. Robert H. Schuller author of "Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do" One of the most important books of the century -- an absolute must-read for all persons interested in genuinely understanding and helping our fellow human beings. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
64 of 65 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Not your usual self help book. 12 Feb 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Unlike most self help books Seligman's work is based on actual research. I would really recommend this book for people who are sick of the positive thinking movement but would still like some of the benefits. From the reviews here you might think this is just another Polyanna book. Seligman does not say that optimistic people are superior to others. In fact, he says that pessimists are more realistic. Optimists make good sales people, but you wouldn't want them to be elevator inspectors.

Seligman advocates mature optimism. Basically the higher the cost of being wrong, the more it pays to be a pessimist. With that said there are a host of benefits to be had from optimism.

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60 of 61 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
While many books explain the personal benefits of "positive thinking", repeating positive mantras, and taking positive action, this book is critically important because it shows you just how much advantage an optimistic outlook provides. The evidence is so overwhelming that I found myself realizing that everyone needs to adopt more optimism in the important areas of their life. I liked the self-administered tests in the book for checking my optimism, that of my wife, and that of my children. I have always prided myself on being realistic, and still value that quality. What I learned is that being realistic should be combined with feeling optimistic about creating ways to improve the realistic situation as I understand it. That distinction is one that has been critically valuable in my life. I strongly recommend that you read this book, and share it with people you care about. For an organization, thinking about these issues could be a critical advantage.
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144 of 151 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Improving your thinking styles 4 Feb 2002
Format:Paperback
The important message of this book is that optimistic thinking is a very important skill that can be learned. But what is meant by optimistic thinking in this book? Well, to make sense of what happens in their life, people tend to attach explanations to events after they have happened. This process is usually referred to as 'attribution'. Seligman describes how people differ in their explanatory style, in other words, they have different 'habits of explanation'. He distinguishes three dimensions of attribution: 1) permanence (is the cause of the event permanent or temporary?), 2) pervasiveness (is the cause of the event general or specific?), and 3) personalization (is the cause of the even internal -personal- or external - caused by the sitution?). The difference between optimists and pessimist can be described using these three dimensions.

Pessimists tend to believe that negative things that happen to them 1) will have a long-lasting effect, 2) will affect many situations, and 3) are caused by themselves. Also, when something positive happens the pessimist tends to explains this negatively by 1) thinking this is just temporary success, 2) won't help him in other situations than this specific one, 3) and is caused by the situation more than by his own competence.
Optimists explain situations exactly the other way around. They tend to think that negative events 1) are just a temporary setback, 2) only affect thìs situation, and 3) are externally caused (not their own fault). Positive things are also explained positively by the optimistic thinker. He will think 1) that the success will last long, 2) that the success will positively affect other situations as well, and 3) that the success was caused by his own doing.

What's the relevance of this? Pessimists, by their way of thinking, constantly tend to destroy their own hope and build self-blame en guilt. A pessimistic thinking style causes many problems: emotional problems, under-utilization of your potential, and health-problems. Thinking pessimistically is a dangerous habit. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy: by thinking you have no way of influencing a bad situation, this becomes true. Optimists, on the other hand, build hope and maintain a positive self-image. They perform better at school and/or work, and are, on average, healthier. If this sounds interesting to you, maybe you should read this book. It will help you to assess your own habits of explanation and helps you to develop the skill of thinking positively.

Coert Visser

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Audio download is a waste of money
The audio download refers to tests you should be trying yourself which must be in the book. It is probably designed as a companion to the published text. Read more
Published 1 month ago by GJ Glass
4.0 out of 5 stars Helping People Feel Happier
Wanting to be happier is the second most frequent topic my clients bring to coaching, so this is the book I recommend for them. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Angela Sabin Executive Life Coaching
5.0 out of 5 stars Learned optimism - Great book
I love this book and recommend it to everyone. Postage took a while as I wanted it for a birthday present and it was late. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mskat16
5.0 out of 5 stars Quick to arrive and a good read
One of Martin seligman's earlier works, incorporating some interesting and powerful ideas. From this book it is easy to see why seligman is considered the father of positive... Read more
Published 2 months ago by A. Rawcliffe
5.0 out of 5 stars Learned optpmism: How to change your mind and your life.
Well worth reading, I am from a different culture to the USA, the nationality of the author, but what he writes about is not affected by this as long as the book is read without... Read more
Published 3 months ago by MR J LEON
4.0 out of 5 stars A Reframe of Reframing
I'm not sure how much I can add much that hasn't already been said.

The Dr has spent his entire working life work in psychology, seemingly in the area of optimism. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mungo
1.0 out of 5 stars Unethical
I recently bought this book and really wish i hand't. The guy who wrote the book took part in many animal experiments on dogs, and the book states the findings of these experiments... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jacqui
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
This is Seligman in the early days of his crusade for learning to control your optimism and is a good place to start. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ken Budd
4.0 out of 5 stars Review of book purchase: Learned Optimism
Product arrived in a timely fashion and in the condition as described. Had no issues with seller, and it was overall a seamless process.
Published 19 months ago by TY
5.0 out of 5 stars Seminal book on optimism
Seligman's seminal book on optimism. I think it helped me to understand who I was - a pessimist at heart. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Peter W. Burden
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