Optimism is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as “the quality of being full of hope and emphasizing the good parts of a situation; or a belief that something good will happen.â€
We can foster and model how to be optimistic and view situations that have unexpected outcomes as opportunities to learn and think out of the box; it is all a matter of how we interpret events.
Modeling optimistic language and welcoming situations that might tilt the scale, e.g., sadness or frustration, turning them into opportunities of self-assessment and improvement, can teach resilience, confidence and start creating a mindset to face challenges.
So how can we help?
As caretakers and parents we can encourage our kids to make optimism a habit; the following are some strategies:
- Be a positive role model. Model being optimistic. Look for and point out the good side of events and experiences, instead of emphasizing what didn’t go as expected.
- Interpret unexpected outcomes as opportunities. Unexpected outcomes or “failure†are a natural part of learning that help us see and understand what we don’t know or what we are not able to do yet. Ask: What will you do differently next time?, and help kids self-evaluate: What went well?, What would you change if you could?
Challenge negative explanations. Encourage and propose different explanations for a situation, especially if the first one tends to be a pessimistic one; this will open the opportunity to explore change and improvement, and will allow the possibility to move forward.
Resumen: Podemos fomentar y modelar cómo ser optimistas y ver las situaciones que tienen resultados inesperados como oportunidades para aprender y pensar de manera creativa. Todo es cuestión de cómo interpretamos los eventos.Â
Entonces, ¿cómo podemos ayudar?
Como cuidadores y padres podemos alentar a nuestros hijos a que conviertan el optimismo en un hábito, aquÃ