BLOGPOST 7: Change the Wiring

Nothing is permanent but change. Life is really a matter of change. Every day, we accept the fact that nothing can remain constant forever. Nothing will always be there except change. Why then? Time wears down on everything in one way or the other. Even if today might be the greatest ever, still nobody would surely assure you that tomorrow will be as great as today.


Well, this also applies in the different views in life, optimism-pessimism. Like someone who sees the glass as half empty, it goes to show that one could end up seeing the glass as half full too. The change is applicable to how we see life. Or in other words, it just show that pessimists can be optimists too. So now, one can develop a new studies to rewire this dark view into a vision of a bright world.

As I searched over some articles behind the understanding of this change, I found one entitled "How Pessimists Become Optimists: The Science Behind Affective Mindsets And Overcoming Negatives Biases" by Chris Weller.



The author started his article stating that psychologists claim that the certain cause of human behavior is nature vs nurture. Nature vs nature centers in the contributions of genetic inheritance and environmental factors. To explain further, refer to the photo beside. The character stated that "It's not all genetics, a lot of what makes a musician great is how they grow up." The statement might not be that clear, but what it is intended to say is that when someone is musically inclined, it isn't just so because his parents are inborn musicians but also it is a result of the enriched environment. Considering these assumptions, it just shows that certain things are developed depending on the genes and environment. This enters the fact that pessimism as part of a human behavior isn't actually just an inborn trait. If it isn't an inborn trait, then it also shows that pessimism isn't resistant to change. Development from the environment would help out pessimists to reach out the desired changes.

Also from the article, Tim Spector made a research on twins in order to understand how epigenetics which is the study of gene changes via environmental factors, influence behavior. It was made possible that identical twins differs in the viewpoint in life in which one is an optimist, and the other is a pessimist. He has found out that there's actually a room for plasticity in our genetic world. It is amazing how our world has been evolving. Making optimism and pessimism emancipated or unchained in our mindset. In which may give pessimists an opportunity to become optimists.

Lastly, the author also added that biases affect our mindset. The negative bias from pessimists would cloud negativity in a situation and vice versa for optimists. The thing is, these biases are controllable. Life is a matter of choice. Change is favorable depending on how we control life.A pessimist may undergo mindful meditation and try a short course on cognitive bias modification (CBM), in order to discard negativity and accept more on positivity. Making unwanted pessimists celebrate their being for it shows that you can actually change your outlook.

Now that you're aware of this change, let's move on to the coping styles. An article in which may help pessimists to overcome pessimism is entitled Becoming an Optimist by Amy Przeworski, from the website http://www.psychologytoday.com

The author proved the saying "An old dog can't learn new tricks" wrong. It wasn't applicable to pessimists, I must say. The author also added that pessimism is caused by a brain asymmetry, leaving a lot of activities from the left hemisphere than the right.

Research shows that people can change alter their path to optimism and say goodbye to pessimsm. Also, researchers claim that people just have to teach themselves in order to be optimistic within 7 weeks by simply looking at angry and smiling faces, and by meditating for 20 minute. This procedural coping style will surely make a balance to this brain asymmetry 

To fully strengthen her article she habe presented 8 steps to overcome this pessimism. First of all, breath. Before you give te feeling of the air flow slowly going inside your nostrils and goes down your throat into your lungs. Second,Listen to your heart. Feel your heart beat throwing it back to every part of your body. Third, Organize your thoughts. Think about your problems rationally instead of reacting to them emotionally. Fourth, Don’t try to stop your thoughts. Struggling your thoughts only make you stronger. Fifth, Act as if your thoughts are ambient noise. Make your thoughts like a noise that if you hear them, you don't listen to them. Sixth, Don’t judge your thoughts. Treat them with forgiveness, it will be easier to handle them. Seventh, Bring your thoughts back to track. Don't let negativity get in your thoughts. Lastly, Exercise this for a few minutes. Your brain will stop running in circles, and eventually it will work. The more you practice – the more you can easily handle worries and be in less panic.

Taking note of these steps, the essential key is practice, practice, and practice. It will surely take a long time to put off negativity and to learn optimism. But with that, you will notice that you can teach an old dog new tricks or that dog may see a brighter world instead of the gloomy outlook. Be that as it may, a person could actually just manually change the perspective without undergoing some technical procedures. 
Or generally, this pessimism is also subject to change.

Summing up both articles, it goes to show that pessimism isn't change resistant. Although it may take a little while, it still doesn't deprive you to change the way you see life. Both articles have presented different ways to get a lift on the other side. It could be done manually or technically from the world advancement. Yet, it leads you to the same purpose: CHANGE. Also, I have observed that this change of outlook is only for pessimist wanting to become optimists. It may be just  from my baseless observation, but I really did not find any way how optimists turn out to be pessimists. To add up, I have also concluded from this research that pessimism is all in the mind. It's just on the way how people control their behavior. By anytime you wish to change the wiring, you actually can.