{"id":1161,"date":"2021-07-27T00:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/?p=1161"},"modified":"2025-10-16T09:31:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T16:31:40","slug":"did-you-know-only-25-of-optimism-is-inherited-top-5-tips-to-become-more-glass-half-full-from-the-optimism-doctor-herself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/did-you-know-only-25-of-optimism-is-inherited-top-5-tips-to-become-more-glass-half-full-from-the-optimism-doctor-herself\/","title":{"rendered":"Did you know only 25% of optimism is inherited? Top 5 tips to become more \u2018glass half full\u2019 from the Optimism Doctor herself"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hate to break it to you, but from an evolutionary standpoint, we\u2019re all prone to be pessimists. Back in the day, our ancestors who predicted worst-case scenarios were the ones who survived. In modern life though, constantly imagining doom and gloom doesn\u2019t exactly lead to happiness. But only 25% of optimism is inherited, so that means even if you think you\u2019re a born pessimist, you can <\/em>learn how to reverse it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mentally, when you\u2019re in a good mood, your brain kicks into high-functioning gear and you\u2019re better positioned <\/a>to come up with solutions to everyday situations. You\u2019ll be more productive<\/a> and have a better shot at achieving goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physically, studies have shown that optimistic people live longer<\/a>, get sick less often, have better cardio health<\/a>, fewer respiratory issues, bounce back from sickness sooner, experience less pain, and enjoy healthy social and intimate relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to get your positivity practice on? Here are my top 5 ways to increase optimism levels, even for the most pessimistic out there.<\/p>\n\n\n

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01<\/div>\n
Happiness is contagious, so surround yourself with joyful people. <\/div>\n

In fact<\/a>, happiness spreads to 3 degrees of separation in a friend group. In other words, when you feel happy, your friend’s friend’s friend has a higher likelihood of feeling that joy. Think about your core group of pals and figure out how many people around you are truly happy or exemplify optimism, then spend more time with them. On the flip side, give yourself permission to spend less time with people you don\u2019t think spread joy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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02<\/div>\n
Change your perspective. <\/div>\n

A simple shift can make a huge difference. At the beginning of the pandemic, I kept saying I was \u201cstuck at home.\u201d The word \u201cstuck\u201d made me feel claustrophobic, so I shifted my phrasing to say \u201csafe at home.\u201d My situation didn\u2019t change, but that one word swap reminded me how lucky and privileged I was to actually be safe at home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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03<\/div>\n
Challenge yourself to find any upside in a tough situation, no matter how small. <\/div>\n

You may not know how you\u2019ll get through tough times, but the key is to be curious and open and gather the strength to say, \u201cI wonder how I\u2019ll grow from this.\u201d And this is the important part: The goal is not to love your situation\u2014it\u2019s to see that it exists and recognize it sucks, but know that you\u2019ll grow from it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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04<\/div>\n
Spend time outdoors. <\/div>\n

Research shows<\/a> that spending 2 hours on average outdoors every week increases positive mood and decreases stress and cortisol levels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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05<\/div>\n
Focus on things you\u2019re proud of. <\/div>\n

Self-gratitude is one of the most potent forms of overall gratitude, so celebrate your wins. They don\u2019t have to be huge\u2014in fact the smaller the better. The result is that you’re more likely to focus on achieving future goals because you\u2019re feeding your self-esteem. Keep a list of your successes so you can remind yourself what you achieved and how hard you worked to get there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hate to break it to you, but from an evolutionary standpoint, we\u2019re all prone to be pessimists. Back in the day, our ancestors who predicted worst-case scenarios were the ones who survived. In modern life though, constantly imagining doom and gloom doesn\u2019t exactly lead to happiness. But only 25% of optimism is inherited, so that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":1242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mind"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1760632800:21"],"_edit_last":["21"],"adobe_analytics_repeatable":["a:1:{i:0;a:2:{s:4:\"name\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"value\";s:0:\"\";}}"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["1"],"primary_category":["2"],"_primary_category":["field_608c33bdd26d5"],"show_featured_image":["1"],"_show_featured_image":["field_609ee1cf1ce13"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["2"],"_thumbnail_id":["1242"],"post_views_count":["3710"],"mobile_image":[""],"_mobile_image":["field_60bf7692abe28"],"_post_views_count":["field_6107dfafd6a27"],"sidebar_products_use_global_default":["0"],"_sidebar_products_use_global_default":["field_63a349a11086a"],"sidebar_products_title":["Related Products"],"_sidebar_products_title":["field_6408d62123449"],"sidebar_products_items":[""],"_sidebar_products_items":["field_63a349a110878"],"sidebar_products":[""],"_sidebar_products":["field_63a349a0dadad"],"_yoast_wpseo_title":["5 Tips to be more optimistic | Murad Skincare"],"_aioseo_title":[null],"_aioseo_description":["Uncover five expert tips from the Optimism Doctor to train your brain for positivity, reframe stress, and live with a more optimistic outlook."],"_aioseo_keywords":["a:0:{}"],"_aioseo_og_title":[""],"_aioseo_og_description":[""],"_aioseo_og_article_section":[""],"_aioseo_og_article_tags":["a:0:{}"],"_aioseo_twitter_title":[""],"_aioseo_twitter_description":[""]},"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":{"primary_category":{"term_id":2,"name":"Mind","slug":"mind","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":76,"filter":"raw"},"show_featured_image":true,"post_views_count":"3710","mobile_image":false,"sidebar_products":{"use_global_default":false,"title":"Related Products","items":""}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1161"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1243,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1161\/revisions\/1243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/1242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}