Every person goes through hardship in her life. How to react to adversities productively to bounce back from the set backs takes a lot of courage, determination and practice.
A myriad of research has shown that gratitude and optimism are the panacea to a wide range of mental health concerns including anxiety and depression.
Today let me share two quotes from Socrates about gratitude and explanatory style about optimistic individuals as observed by Dr. Martin Seligman.
“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”
“If you don’t get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don’t want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can’t hold on to it forever. Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change, free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. But change is law and no amount of pretending will alter that reality.”
— Socrates
As far as pessimism or optimism is concerned, Dr. Seligman’s explanatory style offers the following observations:
| Pessimist | Optimist |
| Internal: believe oneself is to blame for all bad outcomes | External: believe that there are external factors which contributed to the undesirable outcome |
| Stable: believe that the situation is permanent and will not change | Unstable: believe that it is temporary and better times will come |
| Global: believe that one area will impact all aspects of life | Specific: believe that the issue is local and does not have a global effect |
I understand that life is never to be simplified to a handful of theories or perspectives yet I still find these quotes and information extremely thought-provoking and enlightening. They resonate with my thought process and help me cultivate a resilient mindset in face of setbacks.
Cultivating Happiness 
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