Helplessness & Optimism
Optimism. It’s Principle #1. All the great teachers—from Aurelius and the Buddha to the modern gurus and scientists—tell us the same thing: If we can’t control the contents of our consciousness and tame those gremlins of fear and anxiety and self-doubt, none of the rest of this stuff matters. Period.
Before Martin Seligman started studying optimism and happiness and meaning, he spent a couple decades studying the opposite of optimism: helplessness.
Imagine a study with two dogs. They’re both given shocks at random intervals. One can press a lever to stop the shocks. The other can’t. The first dog quickly discovers how to stop the shocks and is fine. The other dog—the one who can’t do anything about the shocks— eventually gives up and curls into a helpless little ball in the corner as the shocks continue. Eek.
That’s Part I of the study.
Part 2: Those same dogs are put into a new environment. This time, both dogs can easily avoid the shocks. The healthy dog quickly discovers the trick and is fine. The other dog, EVEN THOUGH IT NOW HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THINGS, just gives up—curling into a ball as the shocks continue (and con- tinue and continue). The dog has learned helplessness.
So have we.
After being shocked by life so many times through- out our lives, too often we “learn helplessness” and just give up—forgetting that, even though we might’ve been morons many times before, we ALWAYS (!!!) have the ability to choose a more effective response to whatever challenges we’re currently facing.
Before Martin Seligman started studying optimism and happiness and meaning, he spent a couple decades studying the opposite of optimism: helplessness.
Imagine a study with two dogs. They’re both given shocks at random intervals. One can press a lever to stop the shocks. The other can’t. The first dog quickly discovers how to stop the shocks and is fine. The other dog—the one who can’t do anything about the shocks— eventually gives up and curls into a helpless little ball in the corner as the shocks continue. Eek.
That’s Part I of the study.
Part 2: Those same dogs are put into a new environment. This time, both dogs can easily avoid the shocks. The healthy dog quickly discovers the trick and is fine. The other dog, EVEN THOUGH IT NOW HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THINGS, just gives up—curling into a ball as the shocks continue (and con- tinue and continue). The dog has learned helplessness.
So have we.
After being shocked by life so many times through- out our lives, too often we “learn helplessness” and just give up—forgetting that, even though we might’ve been morons many times before, we ALWAYS (!!!) have the ability to choose a more effective response to whatever challenges we’re currently facing.
KNOW THIS: Choosing to curl up in the corner (or in bed) as we helplessly let life shock us again and again is THE quickest way to ensure we’re depressed (and, in the process, destroy our psychological and immunological health).
The antidote?
We’ve gotta learn optimism. Let’s learn how. (But first, how about a look at crazy monkeys and ANTs?)
The antidote?
We’ve gotta learn optimism. Let’s learn how. (But first, how about a look at crazy monkeys and ANTs?)
