Are You an Optimist?

Published in Positivity by Chere Bork MS, RDN on October 22, 2012
Share
Tweet
Pin
0 Shares

Do you want to live longer, be happier, perform better under pressure and have better marital satisfaction? Take the quiz and see if you are an optimist.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Don’t respond with what you think you should say, but how you typically view your life.
  1. In uncertain times, I expect the best.
  2. I always look on the bright side.
  3. I am optimistic about my future.
  4. Every cloud has a silver lining.
  5. If something can go wrong, it will.
  6. Things never work out the way I want them to.
  7. I rarely count on good things happening to me.

If you agree with the first four statements and disagree with the last three, you are an optimist.

If you disagree with the first four statements and agree with the last three, you are more pessimistic.

Optimist’s and Pessimist’s Self Talk

Explaining Bad Events

Optimists

Pessimists
See setbacks as temporary. See setbacks as permanent.
See adversity as specific to the immediate life. Generalize the problem to their whole problem.
Explain bad events as external causes. Explain bad events by blaming themselves.

        Explaining Good Events

Optimists
Pessimists
See good events as permanent. Dismiss good events as temporary.
Generalize good outcomes to their whole life. Limit good outcomes to a specific area.
Attribute good events to themselves. Attribute good events to external causes.

Adapted from the Life Orientation Test by Michael Scheier and Charles Carver.

 

From Chere Bork

I love my life! I have a passion and a purpose to share my recipe for health and happiness with RDNs and others – maybe even more so now that I’ve officially retired. If you want to learn what I discovered through coaching 1000 people over 9000 hours check out my final post, “Live Like This Is Your Last Day. Someday It Will Be!”

Blog Categories