Learned Helplessness

The idea of learned helplessness describes how different people explain their personal experiences.  Persons with an optimistic style would explain difficult things, like rejection, in a temporary, passing kind of way.  The optimistic perspective says that what has happened is a singular event and it only impacts me now, and thus I will be moving on to the next thing.  A pessimistic style is much more derogatory: it sees negative experiences as long-lasting, pervasive, a personal failure.  It is this mindset that can hold you back from achieving any of the goals that come with handling failure.

Learned helplessness can be applied in all aspects of life.  Failure is a growing experience, and those who struggle to handle it with positivity will never gain any of its benefits.  The people who see failure, rejection, anything of the sort as an isolated event that can be quickly moved past are the ones who make the best salespeople.  They roll with the punches and remain buoyant, another topic we discussed in class.  On the flip side, pessimistic people get stuck in their failure and lost in the sting of rejection.  They can’t move past what has happened and they never progress.  This holds them back, both in terms and in terms of life.  For instance, a pessimistic person who gets rejected in a dating relationship will stay stuck in that rut for much longer than an optimistic person would.  Being able to quickly move forward helps us stay afloat.