Are We Born Optimistic? This Is What Science Says

Are we born optimistic? Is there someone who comes to this world being negative “by nature”? Is there, perhaps, some biological or genetic component that determines the way we face life? Who else and who has asked this question least, especially when meeting someone who seems to have an almost natural ability to see things on the brighter side.

They are personalities with their own resources to handle difficult moments, to draw strength from weaknesses and see hope where others only see storms on the horizon. Therefore, it is common to question what makes them unique and perhaps suspect that those special beings have already reached this reality being that way.

The truth is that science has the answer to this question and the explanation could not be more interesting as well as poetic: optimistic people are born, but they are also made. We analyze it below.

Is it true that we are born optimistic?

To think that there are people who are born seeing “the glass half full” since they come into the world causes some surprise. The point is that there are truly striking cases that are worth talking about. An example, Jo Cameron is a Scottish woman who has a small mutation in two very specific genes: FAAH and FAAH-OUT.

This alteration translates into not feeling pain and always showing a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards life. Something that could certainly arouse some envy, actually hides a small inconvenience that Jo herself admits. Pain is there for a reason, it is part of who we are and therefore we cannot eliminate from our essence a component that has accompanied us throughout all evolution.

This woman doesn’t know she’s burning her hand until she smells it. Nor can you feel sadness when it should be expected. This is an exceptional case, but there are others.

Ida Keeling is a 106-year-old woman who has managed to face the hardest moments of her life. At 60 she lost her children and instantly looked for a mechanism to alleviate that pain: running. She became a record-breaking sprinter.

If we ask ourselves if we are born optimistic, the truth is that these two women (each in their own circumstances) have something in common: the high production of anandamide.

Anandamide, more common in the brains of optimistic people

Anandamide is a substance secreted by neurons that acts on the reward circuits of the brain. It is a type of endogenous lipid that interacts directly with cannabinoid receptors. What does this mean? It involves the following:

• People with a high level of endogenous anandamide regulate the sensation of physical and emotional pain more easily.
• Studies such as those carried out at Bowling Green State University (United States) speak of how anandamide increases the level of motivation and decision-making.
• They have a greater ability to settle new information.
• They are adept at achieving homeostasis, relaxing in times of stress, and participating in activities that mediate their balance and well-being.

Are we born optimistic? The key is in the brain

When asked if we are born optimists, scientists tell us clearly: there must be a balance between optimism and pessimism in order to survive. Feeding exclusively a single focus will not help us. It is not good, for example, to maintain that little logical positivism that makes us go with a blindfold, just as it is not good to walk through life with a filter of constant negativity.

In this way, studies such as those carried out at College London (United Kingdom) reveal that people with a tendency to be more optimistic tend to use another cognitive approach. An optimist selects positive signals from the environment and tries not to over-reinforce adverse data.

In addition, their brains have less hypervigilance and less activity in the brain amygdala (that area in charge of processing threats and risks).

Optimism is also learned

Indeed, we can come into the world with a brain oriented to see opportunities where others see problems. We may also have a higher level of anandamine, like Jo Cameron and Ida Keeling.

However, not all optimists come with such software out of the box. There are also those who learn to be it, there are many people who at a given moment integrate new strategies with which to apply a more positive and hopeful filter to their lives.

How do they do that? These would be some simple keys.

• They learn to manage their emotions better.
• They learn problem solving techniques.
• They enhance self-esteem. Self-confidence allows them to see the present and the future with a lower level of anxiety. 
• They place your attention in the present. Yesterday no longer exists, tomorrow has not yet happened.
• They assume and accept that adversity exists in life. Not everything will happen as we want or expect, but the way to process what happens is key.
• Acceptance and hope in difficult days allows them to see life with greater optimism.

Nothing is as important as cultivating, training and developing a positive mental approach, the one that even accepting daily difficulties, does not give up or sink. If not, he allows himself to face life with enthusiasm in spite of everything.