How optimistic are you? : NPR

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Many of us are fickle friends of our optimism. It’s easy to savor the good side of things when everything goes your way. But on other days – your car breaks down, your child is sick (again) – finding a glimmer of hope can seem futile.

Whatever your situation, optimism can always come in handy, says behavioral scientist and psychologist Deepika Chopra, author of The power of true optimisma book published in March.

Unlike pessimism, whose evolutionary purpose was to help humans survive by constantly imagining worst-case scenarios, optimism may be more useful in solving problems in our modern world, Chopra says.

“Optimism is what we need to stay engaged and deeply caring,” especially in difficult times, she says. It keeps us “deeply grounded in reality, but at the same time it leaves room for hope.”

And the best part is, anyone can practice seeing the glass half full, says Chopra. “Optimism is a muscle. We just have to work at it.”

Behavioral scientist and psychologist Deepika Chopra is the author of The power of true optimism.

L: Nicholas Aparicio, R: Simon Element

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L: Nicholas Aparicio, R: Simon Element

The quiz: How optimistic are you?

The first step to perfecting this mindset is determining your starting point, says Chopra. For her book, Chopra created a quiz, inspired by one developed by psychologist Martin Seligman, to give readers a general sense of their optimism.

Take the quiz below to see where you fall on the spectrum, then scroll down for tips on how to become more optimistic.

3 Ways to Become a More Optimistic Person

If your quiz score surprises you, don’t worry, Chopra writes in her book. Whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist, there are exercises you can do to bring a little more sunshine into your life. She shares three evidence-based strategies below.

Make a daily “ta-da list”

Self-esteem is an important part of becoming more optimistic: If you believe in yourself, it’s easier to imagine greater success in your future, says Chopra.

To encourage this positive emotional response, Chopra recommends a tool called a “ta-da list.” It’s a list of all your accomplishments for the day, no matter how big or small.

Include all the things you crossed off your to-do list, like starting a big project or doing laundry. Also don’t forget unexpected or less tangible things, like remembering to drink enough water or setting boundaries at work, says Chopra.

“By remembering everything you do to improve your life, you can draw strength for the future and build a more optimistic outlook,” she writes in her book.

Schedule “worry time”

The human brain is forward-looking, Chopra says. Unfortunately, this means that we tend to worry a lot about what could occur, including events that are improbable or impossible to prevent.

These worries can overshadow our vision for the future, so we end up focusing primarily on the bad things that might happen, rather than looking toward the good.

To avoid becoming overwhelmed, Chopra recommends building “worry time” into your day. This exercise, widely used in clinical psychology, “can help people become familiar with uncertainty and make them more capable of finding solutions,” Chopra writes in her book.

Find 15 minutes where you have energy and won’t be distracted. Choose a place to worry that you don’t normally associate with relaxation, like an office or coffee shop, not your bedroom.

Throughout the day, write down all the worries that bother you, especially those that keep coming back. Then, use your designated worry time to go through the list and ask yourself if you can control or change the worry.

If you can’t, ask yourself if you can let go of your worries. According to Chopra, an important part of optimism is the feeling of having some capacity to act for a better future.

Practice Daily Affirmations with the 7/10 Rule

Affirmations have been shown in psychology to have a measurable positive impact on stress levels and optimism. In general, the idea is that if you feel more positively about yourself, you are able to believe in a better future for you – and a better future. For you, Chopra said.

But if you choose claims you don’t actually believe, Chopra says, they may be ineffective — or even make you feel worse about yourself.

That’s why Chopra advises following the “7/10 rule” for affirmations. Choose a statement that you are at least 70% sure about, not something you believe in only 1/10 or 3/10. Then work on the idea that you hope believe.

For example, you may have landed your dream job, but you’re suffering from imposter syndrome. Rather than saying a statement like, “I’m the best at what I do,” you can start with a statement that you can fully support, like, “I’m a hard worker who adds value to my team.”

Make a habit of repeating these positive and specific affirmations daily. The more you say something, Chopra says, the more your brain will start looking for information that confirms it — until something you thought was 7/10 becomes something you thought was 10/10. Then continue to build new positive affirmations from there.

When you move from a negative view of yourself to a belief in a kind, competent person, it’s much easier to feel hopeful about what’s next, Chopra writes in her book.

This story was edited by Malaka Gharib. We would love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823 or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

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