The Right Kind of Optimism: Balancing Hope with Realism
CLEANING UP YOUR MENTAL MESS with Dr. Caroline Leaf
Dr. Caroline Leaf
4.6 • 3.2K Ratings
🗓️ 19 February 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You’ve probably heard me talk about being *wired for love*, but did you know that optimism isn’t just about being positive all the time? That’s not realistic! In this episode, I dive into the science of optimism—how it shapes our brains, boosts resilience, and even improves our health. But here’s the catch: the *right* kind of optimism isn’t just about seeing the bright side—it’s about balancing hope with realism (and yes, even a little bit of pessimism!). I’ll share practical tips to help you develop a mindset that fuels growth, problem-solving, and real success. Let’s find that *Goldilocks* sweet spot together!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Breakthroughs with Pfizer UK, the podcast where Pfizer invites experts from across the pharmaceutical industry to discuss the most pressing healthcare topics. |
| 0:10.7 | What is the biggest thing that saved the most lives in terms of public health ever? It is clean water. And the second thing is vaccination. |
| 0:18.3 | The science is really exciting because we're still learning about it all the time. |
| 0:23.5 | As you are tricking the body's immune system. |
| 0:27.1 | Listen and follow wherever you get your podcast. |
| 0:36.1 | Hi, I'm your host, Dr. Caroline Neath and welcome to my podcast, cleaning up the mental |
| 0:41.4 | mess. |
| 0:42.6 | Today we're going to talk about optimism and pessimism and how to balance them and how to actually |
| 0:48.9 | make them work for you and not against you. |
| 0:51.6 | But before we begin, I just want to ask if you wouldn't mind rating |
| 0:54.6 | and reviewing this podcast and sharing with friends and family. I'd really appreciate it and it |
| 0:59.0 | really helps us keep this podcast going. And also I've got some super great news that I'm thrilled |
| 1:04.2 | about. I have a new book coming out on the 5th of August. It's called Help in a Hurry and that's |
| 1:09.6 | what it is. It's a response to you. |
| 1:12.1 | Amazing listeners and people that follow me, your questions that you wanted answered and I put |
| 1:17.7 | that in a book. We did a survey and it's the things that you guys want help in a hurry for the |
| 1:22.4 | most and I want help in a hurry for all these things. So things like help what's going on in my |
| 1:27.3 | head. Help I'm under pressure. Help my like help what's going on in my head. Help |
| 1:27.8 | I'm under pressure. Help my brain won't shut up. Help my intrusive thoughts are driving me crazy. |
| 1:32.5 | Help I don't feel happy all the time. Help I'm angry all the time. Help my regrets are |
| 1:36.7 | holding you back. Help my past is haunting me. Help I'm a people pleaser. Help my inner critic |
| 1:41.1 | those are just some of the amazing chapters. |
... |
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