MM#63--Learned Optimism

Welcome to the theory to action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time to help you take action immediately, and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now, here's your host, David Kaiser.


Hello, I'm David and welcome back to another Mojo minute. Well, if you happen to read the news lately, you will know that we are headed towards an economic recession. Inflation is on the march and getting stronger and stronger every day. And the country is not being run by adults. But then again, it seems this is the new normal for the last 20 months, this worldwide pandemic has made our leaders batteries in their head go dead, as my English teacher used to tell me. So for you and for me, we will have to weather the storm, we will have to be leaders in our communities. And we in fact, will have to be the real adults reasonably looking out at the landscape and the horizon where we see the storm clouds brewing. And we will have to navigate these troubled waters. Because our friends and family depend on us. And by the way, that was a great song by Simon and Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water back in the day. 


Sadly, I digress. So to help both you and me, I dove back in the archives of the Mojo Academy, and lo and behold, I found a gem, a gem indeed, and one of our very first Mojo Academy reviews we'd ever done. It was on the great book learned optimism by Martin Seligman. And by God's good Providence, I came across this review again, and it can surely help us during these troublesome days. Let's explore a little with Mr. Seligman. Our first key idea in which we choose how we think. 

And as always, let's go to the book for a quote, habits of thinking need not be forever. One of the most significant findings in psychology in the last 20 years is that individuals can choose the way they think. So the dominant theories in psychology shifted in the late 1960s, from the power of the environment, to individual expectation, preference, choice, decision, control, and helplessness. The fundamental change in the field of psychology is intimately related to the fundamental change in our psychology, for the first time in history, because of technology and mass production, and distribution and for other reasons, large numbers of people are able to have significant measure of choice, and therefore personal control in their lives. Not the least of these choices concerns our own habits of thinking. By and large people have welcomed that control. We belong to a society that grants individual members powers they have never had before a society that takes individuals pleasures and pains very seriously. That exalts the self, and deems personal fulfillment, a legitimate goal and almost sacred, right. Unquote. 

And again, that's Martin Seligman, in the book, learned optimism. So how cool was that? Our habits of thinking may not be forever. In fact, here's the quote again, habits of thinking need not be forever. But so many are caught in the trap of this is just how I am. This is just how my personality is. But it need not be so. And that's very liberating. very liberating, indeed. Now, the funny thing is, towards the end of the paragraph from Seligman 's book, about our sacred rights and personal fulfillment as a legitimate goal. Well, we know that all that changed in the last 20 or the last 20 months you know the thought police are here. They want to control everything you think. Not allowed to think the wrong way you have to think the way of the state or the way the government, aka George Orwell, in 1984.

Yes, 1984 and 2021. Maybe I should do a review on 1984 the book. It's a fiction book and I don't do fiction books so far on this channel or in the the academy or the Mojo Academy, but certainly can start. In fact, I think that would be a pretty cool idea. Anyhow, back to how we think, or habit of thinking need not be depressed and need not be this jointed it need not be cumbersome, it need not be ADHD. We can learn optimism as the title says. And this book can help you see the light. In fact, it can help all of us see the light. So be sure to check out the Mojo Academy Review for more details. But for now, let's turn off the legacy and mass media. After all, no one actually watches them anyhow. Actually, I just read a story that CNN and MSNBC is viewership is down some 45 and 68% respectively. I will I will put those that article into the show notes. And I guess they're still pulling in the airport terminal viewership. You know the TVs that just stay on 24 hours a day, and no one really watches them only for the five minutes when you're at your gate getting ready to board. Seriously, though, they're less than a million viewers in today's day. And age is just pitiful. 

YouTube channels get more views than that. So again, that's another change in our culture, and perhaps might even be a good thing. We need to independently think for ourselves. And we need to start reading good books from good writers. And we can even in fact, read some great book reviews from the Mojo Academy, local shameless plug there. But hey, I was on a roll. So in today's the Mojo minute, let us control our own thinking and know for sure that the way we habitually think right now need not be forever. And as the world changes dramatically around us, let us continue to fight for our ideals, and for what is true and good. With learned optimism as our as our guide. And with the virtues of faith, hope and charity practice in our lives, we will retain the belief in our God and our love of our neighbor. And we will certainly come through any economic depression or recession, no matter how bad the world gets, and becomes because after all, we learned optimism.

Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this theory to action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at T Mojo academy.com where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on