Silver Linings Playbook

You can learn how to become more optimistic, no matter your starting point.

- Addison Aloian

So, you're running late to work because you overslept (thanks for nothing, alarm clock!) and hit every single red light on your morning commute. You finally reach your destination, only to have a bird poop on you-no joke-as you walk through the door. Then you stub your toe mid-sprint to an important meeting with your boss (ya know, the thing you're already late for).

Ugh, just my luck, you think. Of course this would happen to me; stuff like this always happens to me.

Sound frustratingly familiar? If you often feel trailed by a personal, perpetual rain cloud, you might be a pessimist-i.e., someone who tends to have a negative outlook on life. Optimists, meanwhile, have a knack for finding the silver lining. They expect the best possible outcome in the face of uncertainty, says psychiatrist Sue Varma, MD, author of Practical Optimism: The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional Well-Being.

For better or worse, where you fall on the optimism-pessimism spectrum is at least partially out of your control. Only about 25 percent of optimism is genetic, meaning you inherit a natural tendency to see the glass as half-full or half-empty, according to Dr. Varma. However, other experts say more research needs to be done before the nature vs. nurture debate is settled; neuroscientist Claudia Aguirre, PhD, a Women's Health advisory board member, says it's still unknown just how much genes factor into optimism.

While experts agree that both nature and nurture play a role, the "nurture [component], with respect to optimism, is far more important than nature," says Ellen Langer, PhD, a psychology professor at Harvard University.