Optimism is the secret wellness tool you’re not using – here are 12 ways to build it

A half-full glass is not only good because it might be half-filled with wine. Your perception of that half-full glass as half-full, instead of half-empty, could also be good for your health.

That’s according to a new study, which suggests optimism might lower your chances of developing dementia. But that’s not the only health benefit of looking on the bright side – previous research points to optimists living longer, having better cardiovascular health, and experiencing improved pain tolerance.

So optimism = good. Pessimists reading this will likely be thinking ‘well, yet more bad news for me’. But wait! Optimism can be built. That means we can all reap those potential health benefits with a little bit of graft. That glass is looking a little fuller, right?

But what makes someone an optimist? And how do we go about upping our optimism skills? And is it really worth the effort? Let’s dig in...

The health benefits of optimism

Optimism is associated positively with our mental health, but it can be tricky to unpick the direct cause and effect. Science says optimists tend to be more resilient and experience lower levels of stress... but are they less stressed because they’re optimists? Or are people with lower levels of stress more likely to remain optimists? Your view on this will likely depend on how optimistic you are.

Then there’s the chance of other contributing factors. Might someone who is likely to be an optimist also be more likely to have increased energy, which then enables them to engage in physical exercise... which then lowers their stress levels? If optimists, for example, also happen to be people who love to eat courgettes, will any mental health benefits be down to their optimism or their choice of summer squash? It appears, for example, that optimists are less likely to smoke cigarettes and more likely to eat healthy diets. Optimism isn’t an easily controlled factor for research, so it’s challenging to do robust testing to definitively prove its impact.

What we can see, though, is correlation. And that all points in a positive direction. Studies have linked optimism with improved cardiovascular health, lower levels of stress, reduced dementia risk, decreased pain, lower levels of adverse outcomes from childbirth, lower blood pressure, a longer life span and better sleep.

Can you become an optimist?

Optimism is thought to be a partly inherited trait, so you can blame some negativity bias on your genes (and your parents, which is always fun). Our view that the future will be largely good or bad is also impacted by our life experiences, from early childhood onwards. If you go through a lot of bad experiences when you’re younger, it makes sense that you’d believe bad stuff is likely to keep happening. Again, feel free to blame your parents for your negative outlook.

‘From a neuroscience standpoint, optimism isn’t just a personality trait floating in the abstract,’ explains psychologist Dr Jeremy Pollack. ‘It’s a pattern of brain activity. Optimistic expectation tends to activate dopaminergic reward circuits, particularly in the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens, and it tends to dampen amygdala reactivity, which is the brain's threat detection centre. So an optimist’s brain is, quite literally, less primed to sound the alarm and more primed to anticipate reward. That combination shows up behaviorally as a willingness to approach challenges rather than avoid them, more open mindedness, and more persistence when things get hard.

‘As for who tends to be more optimistic: people with secure early attachment, people who were raised in environments where effort reliably led to good outcomes, and people who’ve simply had more practice interpreting setbacks as temporary and specific rather than permanent and global (what Martin Seligman called ‘explanatory style’) all skew more optimistic. It’s less about personality type and more about conditioning. What your brain has learned to expect.’

But previous experiences and genetics only form a portion of why people are optimists. The rest, say experts, is up to you – which means you can significantly alter the way you move through the world.

‘Optimism is best understood as a predisposition, not a fixed or entirely inherited trait,’ says Dr Barry Herman, a psychiatrist and the chief medical officer at Mentavi Health. ‘Twin studies suggest that genetics may account for roughly 25% to 40% of the differences in optimism among people, which means that environment, relationships, life experiences and learned ways of interpreting events account for a substantial portion as well. Some people may be born with a head start, but optimism can also be developed.’

How do we go about leaning more towards optimism? Experts share practical steps to take below.

12 ways to become more optimistic

Track your small wins

Dr Jeremy advises: ‘End each day by naming one or two things that went well, however minor. This isn’t about toxic positivity. It’s about giving your dopamine reward system regular, real evidence to work with, so it starts expecting good outcomes rather than bracing for bad ones.’

Take action, even if it’s small

Psychologist Dr Natasha Thapar-Olmos makes an important point: optimism is not simply about thinking more positively. ‘Mindset changes need to be grounded in reality,’ she explains. ‘Optimism can become delusion if you’re disconnected from reality. For example, if you’re unemployed and struggling financially, no amount of “positive thinking” or “manifestation” will change those facts unless they’re paired with behaviours. By doing things that will help solve your problem, you are training yourself to be more optimistic because you are actively looking for opportunity, and then doing something to access it.

‘Actively look for things that you can control in a difficult situation and then consider what action you can take to solve the problem. This could be an action that changes the environment, like taking breaks from the news cycle to avoid feeling helpless. It could also be an action that changes your internal state, like committing to reaching out to a friend if you notice you’re feeling down. When we try different behaviours, we teach ourselves that we have agency, which then helps us see things more optimistically.’

Skew your optimism on a schedule

‘Get the timing right,’ Dr Jeremy advises. ‘Neuroplastic change actually consolidates during rest and sleep, not in the heat of the moment. So don’t just practice optimistic reframing in the moment. Revisit it before bed. That’s when the brain does the real work of wiring new patterns into place.’

Keep a prediction diary

Dr Jesse Ofori, a clinical psychologist, says: ‘One practical exercise I often recommend from CBT is keeping a prediction diary: Whenever you notice yourself making a negative prediction (“This meeting will go terribly” or “Everyone will judge me”), write it down alongside how certain you feel, perhaps as a percentage. Afterwards, record what actually happened. Most of us discover that our brains consistently overestimate negative outcomes. Over time, we’re giving the brain new data to update its predictions, which is a much more evidence-based route to optimism than simply telling ourselves to think positive.’

Try the ’gratitude power-up‘

Dr Paul Jenkins, a psychologist who specialises in positivity, recommends: ‘Make a gratitude list for five days in a row of 25 items for which you are sincerely grateful. The power-up part is to make at least half of your list every day (that’s 13, if you’re doing the math) about something hard, difficult, painful, or challenging. Find what you’re grateful for in, from, or because of the difficult thing. This is a powerful way to get your brain to create a different narrative.’

Ask yourself the three Ps

Psychologist Rod Mitchell suggests: ‘Test how you explain bad events against the three Ps: Is it permanent, is it pervasive, is it personal? Pessimists say yes to all three; practicing optimism means treating setbacks as temporary, specific, and not all your fault. Try to catch your pessimistic thoughts in real time, and reframe them into more optimistic ones. The process will become more automatic within weeks.’

Say it out loud

Keep an eye on the language you use when you speak. Each time you use negative language, it consolidates negative bias. ‘Watch your language,’ Dr Jeremy says. ‘The words we use to narrate our own experience shape the circuitry. Swapping “this is a disaster” for “this is a problem I can work on” isn’t just semantics. It changes which brain networks get activated and reinforced.’

Picture a positive future

Robert Alexander is an assistant professor at the Department of Psychology and the director of the Human Factors and Neuroscience lab at the New York Institute of Technology. He suggests: ‘Write about the best future you can reasonably imagine. Not a fantasy in which everything magically works out, but something possible. Picture a future that could result from steady effort, good decisions, and support from other people. Studies of this “best possible self” exercise have found small but meaningful increases in optimism.’

Natasha adds to this: ‘Visualise a positive – but plausible– outcome in vivid detail. Then work backward: What choices, resources, and actions helped create it? Visualisation is most useful when it becomes a mental rehearsal for what you will do next.’

Don’t believe everything you think

It’s important to challenge our thoughts, especially if we’re prone to negativity. ‘Learning to identify and question your own assumptions about the world is an essential skill in cultivating optimism and resilience,’ says Dr Natasha. ‘The next time you face a challenge, take 10 minutes to write down the thoughts and beliefs that surface as you think about the problem. Next, read each one and ask yourself, “Is this thought true?” Circle the ones where the answer is “No” or “I don't know”, and then ask yourself where they came from and whether there’s a more accurate way of seeing the situation. This will get you started on building the habit of questioning your thoughts and developing a more accurate and balanced mindset.’

Think: ‘better by 8am’

‘Ask your brain to give you an idea of something you could do to make your life better by 8am,’ says Paul. ‘This could be a very small task or a more significant undertaking. We’re not talking next week, next month, or next year. Doing this brain hack gives you an immediate sense of improvement for your very near future.’

Create an evidence bank

‘Create new evidence through action,’ says Robert. ‘Make one cautiously hopeful prediction, take one practical step, and see what happens. The brain learns from experience. Taking successful actions can build optimism more effectively than simply telling yourself to “think positively.”’

Each time you take actions, make a note of the outcomes so you can refer back to it. ‘Save screenshots, notes, messages, and memories that prove you have adapted, recovered, learned, or made a difference before,’ recommends Michelle. ‘Consult it when your outlook narrows.’

Fake it

You're allowed to declare yourself an optimist. Right now. Try pretending you’re an optimist and see what happens. Michelle says: ‘You don’t have to feel optimistic to act optimistically. Optimism may begin as a trait, but it becomes a choice we practice. Not the choice to ignore reality, but to face uncertainty without surrendering to the worst-case scenario, to remain open to possibility, draw on the resources available, and trust in our capacity to influence what comes next.’