Optimism is Not Positive Thinking: Its a Practice

Optimism Is Not Positive Thinking. It’s a Practice.

What Dr Martyn Newman’s work on optimism reveals about resilience — and how the POWER Coaching Model® turns possibility into action.

Two people can experience the same setback. One recalibrates, regroups and keeps moving.

The other quietly begins to doubt themselves.

Same challenge. Different interpretation. Different outcome.

I recently watched a reflection from Martyn Newman — clinical psychologist, leadership expert, author of Emotional Capitalists, and a globally recognised voice in emotional intelligence. I also had the privilege of training with Martyn in Emotional Intelligence assessment and development.

One idea from his reflection stayed with me:

Optimism is not about denying reality. It is about interpretation.

Research suggests people with a more optimistic explanatory style are more likely to persist after failure, recover from setbacks and continue pursuing goals. They also tend to experience stronger wellbeing and perform more effectively under pressure.

Listening to Martyn, I was struck by something I repeatedly observe in coaching conversations:

I rarely see people become stuck because they lack ability.

More often, they become stuck in the meaning they attach to setbacks.

The story shifts from:

“This is difficult.”

to

“Maybe I’m not capable.”

And once that interpretation becomes fixed, possibilities begin to narrow.

Martyn highlighted that optimists tend to:

• look for possibilities, not only problems
  • see setbacks as temporary rather than permanent
  • continue taking action even when outcomes are uncertain

What interested me was the practical question:

How do we help people strengthen optimism rather than simply talk about it?

The POWER Coaching Model® approaches optimism as a practical process:

P — Possibilities – What does success look like ?

O — Organise a Plan – Turn possibility into pathways.

W — Willpower: Why bother? Reconnect effort with purpose and meaning.

E — Emotional Skill – Regulate emotions. Maintain perspective. Navigate uncertainty.

R — Results: Take Action – Optimism grows through movement. Not certainty.

Neuroscience suggests that repeated attention and behaviour strengthen pathways that influence what we notice and believe is possible.

Resilience is not built because some people are naturally optimistic.

It develops when people repeatedly experience themselves moving forward despite uncertainty.

Optimism becomes less about personality and more about practice.

Small actions create evidence. Evidence builds belief. Belief strengthens optimism.

Happy Coaching
Olga Varsos

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