The Architecture of Optimism: The Science of Mindset and Resilience

The architecture of optimism refers to the brain’s physical capacity to change its makeup through how we think and live. Our outlook and our brain structure are linked: healthy adults with a larger orbitofrontal cortex tend to be more optimistic and less anxious (Dolcos et al., 2016). Telling yourself, realistically, that something is possible, that something can be done, or that something is worth doing is not just a mood. It is tied to the architecture of your brain.

Brain imaging research shows that when we imagine positive future events, two regions activate more strongly: the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and the amygdala, areas that help us weigh emotional significance. More optimistic people show greater activity in the anterior cingulate (Sharot et al., 2007).

Stress shapes that architecture, too. Chronic stress causes neurons to pull back their dendrites, the branches that connect them to one another, and much of that change reverses once the stress lifts (McEwen, 1999). This, in effect, can prevent the brain from seeking solutions or generating creative responses to stressors and challenges.

Therefore, cultivating self-talk and metacognition about your disposition and translating those thoughts into reasonable actions can improve brain function, especially in creativity, problem-solving and cortisol reduction, by promoting dendritic growth.

What Is Optimism?

As defined by The Oxford Scholastica, optimism is broken down into two categories: dispositional, which is your general outlook, and attributional, which is how we explain the past. Essentially, it is how we approach things as a person and how we explain, or explain away, what has occurred.

These dispositions rely on something called cognitive reappraisal, or, essentially, your approach to challenges. The “I can” approach invites action, opening up more possibilities for new connections in your brain. The “I can’t” approach resigns us to inaction, and inaction gives the brain little to build on.

The good thing is that, thanks to neuroplasticity, the brain retains its capacity to form new connections throughout life. You can reappraise an obstacle or an emotional reaction. You can always change your mind, your approach, and therefore the physical structure and potential of your brain.

Doing Is the Antidote

It is important to note that cortisol impairs clear thinking and inhibits memory and recall. Many of us carry low-level cortisol at all times, for many reasons. Dopamine and endorphins are the combatants of cortisol. They foster creativity and problem-solving while reducing cortisol levels.

The surest and fastest way to produce dopamine and endorphins is simply this: do something. Doing is the antidote to anxiety. When we perform tasks, we cultivate a sense of mastery in the face of challenges. Motor dexterity is one of the fastest ways to produce these superhero chemicals.

We give ourselves positive feedback through activity, exercise, and task completion, which can help build confidence. Even small daily wins demand your attention and acknowledgment for a job done. Making the bed, doing laundry, and cooking a meal all count toward bettering your self-talk and dispositional approach.

Another way to improve your brain’s thought patterns and structure is to engage in visual arts, meditation, performing arts, and sports. According to mybrainwired.com, these stimulate your cognitive functions and reshape your thought patterns into a more optimistic outlook.

Keeping Optimism Realistic

Cultivating optimism must stay realistic. We do not want to invoke the optimism bias, a cognitive illusion in which people overestimate the likelihood of positive events and underestimate the likelihood of negative events.

I cannot beat Sydney McLaughlin in a hurdles race, nor Mike Tyson in a boxing match. I am not impervious to disease, nor can I fly unassisted. Sharot and colleagues (2007) found this bias is pervasive: people expect to live longer, be healthier than average, and underestimate some of life’s adversities.

In that realism, the conversation around optimism involves doing work, stepping into difficulty and facing fears. That initial fearful step is courage, yes, but it is also, indeed, optimism.

Optimism as a Conscious Choice

Optimism can be predicted and demonstrated by a brain scan. The scan shows the neural activity associated with dispositions that occur naturally, or, importantly, with a cognitive and intentional shift toward optimism (Hecht, 2013). Amazingly, you can choose to rewire your brain, create those dendritic physical structures, improve your mood, and find more frequent and creative solutions to problems.

Hecht also points to a further result: optimism creates a sense of power, being able to influence one’s environment and overcome its challenges. People with a higher sense of power are more optimistic than those with a lower sense of power, presumably because power shifts one’s attentional focus from the potential pitfalls to the potential payoffs.

Similarly, confidence is robustly associated with hope, optimism, and resilience. In that sense, optimism can become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Practicing Optimism

So, practically applied, what does optimism look like? Cultivating the skill of optimism can begin simply with positive self-reinforcement, self-talk, and general positive reinforcement of others. Giving credit to yourself for accomplished tasks. Giving credit to others for their accomplishments helps recognize positivity. Setting forth manageable lists and goals, and letting them set the tone for your day, week, or year. Even small wins, like household chores, errands, and daily accomplishments, can start to build an optimistic pathway.

Permutating possibilities helps manage situations, good or bad, by asking oneself, “What else could happen?” This helps reduce surprise and supports the formulation of plans and ideas about what could happen, leading to better, more creative solutions, preparations, and outcomes before events may occur.

Both absorbing and giving authentic praise increase recognition of effort, not necessarily relying on outcomes. Knowing and understanding that work, effort, and fortitude count, when authentic, are worthy of praise and acknowledgment. This can then foster gratitude. The ability to embrace effort, collaboration, involvement, and empathy can create a great combatant of stress: gratitude.

Lastly, recognize beauty. There is so much to appreciate in the world, and in nature specifically. Getting out, even in short moments of our day to recognize beauty, both large and small, can change a mood, an outlook, even an angle on a problem. It can relieve stress and open our minds to new thoughts once the stressful barriers in our processes have come down. Short and long walks, some time in the sun or a nice breeze, even gazing out the window, all of these can be catalytic to our approach and outlook. We control how we think and interact with our stimuli; we might as well make it as pleasant as possible.

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