The Necessity of Optimism

Kristen Scott

It is increasingly recognized that optimism, like integrity, vision, and drive, is a trait associated with and even necessary for effective leadership. This is much to the credit of Martin Seligman, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life (a 1991 publication, reissued in 1998). Seligman has devoted much of his career to trying to understand why some people are immobilized by depression and disasters that happen in their lives whereas others faced with the same challenges are able to overcome them and flourish. The one characteristic he found to differentiate those who flourished from those who were immobilized was ...

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