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A story about Michael J. Fox, who seems like a pretty good guy: (Original Post) Tomconroy Dec 2021 OP
I've read his books, including his latest Skittles Dec 2021 #1
His Health Isn't Good modrepub Dec 2021 #2
"Gratitude makes optimism sustainable." peacefreak2.0 Dec 2021 #3
Wow, that is a great insight! Thank you! . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Dec 2021 #5
There is an excellent concept: Learned Optimism. It seems Michael J. Fox taught himself Bernardo de La Paz Dec 2021 #4

Skittles

(159,381 posts)
1. I've read his books, including his latest
Thu Dec 2, 2021, 05:45 AM
Dec 2021

it's amazing what he has dealt with - how difficult everyday life is for him - yet he keeps his sense of purpose and sense of humor....I've been a fan of his for so long - just an amazing man

modrepub

(3,620 posts)
2. His Health Isn't Good
Thu Dec 2, 2021, 06:32 AM
Dec 2021

but he has a healthy outlook on his life. Not that he hasn't gone through all of the stages of grief dealing with this disease. He passed through a self medicating stage after his diagnosis and has readily admitted he was in a dark place. But once he accepted his fate so to speak and took stock of what he had, I think he found peace and was able to move forward with his life.

Hearing him interviewed over the years, he is very accepting of his fate and truly thankful for what he has. I don't think he wants people to feel sorry for him.

Bernardo de La Paz

(50,934 posts)
4. There is an excellent concept: Learned Optimism. It seems Michael J. Fox taught himself
Thu Dec 2, 2021, 07:15 AM
Dec 2021

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_optimism

Learned optimism is the idea in positive psychology that a talent for joy, like any other, can be cultivated. In contrast with learned helplessness, optimism is learned by consciously challenging any negative self talk.

Learned optimism was defined by Martin Seligman and published in his 1990 book, Learned Optimism.[1] The benefits of an optimistic outlook are many: Optimists are higher achievers and have better overall health. Pessimism, on the other hand, is much more common; pessimists are more likely to give up in the face of adversity or to suffer from depression. Seligman invites pessimists to learn to be optimists by thinking about their reactions to adversity in a new way. The resulting optimism—one that grew from pessimism—is a learned optimism. The optimist's outlook on failure can thus be summarized as "What happened was an unlucky situation (not personal), and really just a setback (not permanent) for this one, of many, goals (not pervasive)".


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