Diabetic Living Australia – March-April 2019

Some people are more

optimistic than others,

and it is partially

inherited. “Even if you

haven’t won the optimism

lottery, you can shift your

point of view by putting

a concerted effort into

changing your mind-set,” says

Sonja Lyubomirsky, psychology

professor at the University of

California, Riverside. “Optimism

is like a muscle – you have to

exercise it to build it,” she adds.

Small steps such as these work:

• Write down three things
  you’re looking forward to. Let
  the good feelings sink in for
  at least five minutes.


• Reminisce. Scientists have
  found people who heard songs
  from their past or thought about
  events that made them nostalgic
  felt more optimistic. Bringing
  up those positive memories can
  boost confidence and optimism.


• Get enough sleep. In one
  study, people who slept seven
  to eight hours a night were
  more optimistic than those
  who got less than six.

Look at the facts:

When a mistake happens, don’t blow

it up as a big problem. Put your

emotions aside and think if you’d be

able to convince a friend that the

situation is really as dire as it seems.

IT’S TOO LATE

TO CHANGE

PERCEPTION

THERE’S A DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN THINKING

‘I FEEL UNHAPPY’ AND

‘I AM UNHAPPY.’

The former helps you separate from your emotions,

which allows the feelings to pass more easily.

Optimism is

a skill you

can develop.^

It takes practice. Think

about where you rank on

this skill and learn how to

understand yourself with

Gretchen Rubin, author

of The Happiness Project.

Visit gretchenrubin.com. ■

REALITY

FLIP^ THE^ SWITCH

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104 MARCH/APRIL 2019 diabetic living

self care