It all comes down to what researchers call “explanatory style.” 

When bad things happen, what kind of story do you tell yourself?

There are three important elements here. Let’s call them the 3 P’s: permanence, pervasiveness and whether it’s personal.

Pessimists tell themselves that bad events:

1. Will last a long time, or forever. (“I’ll never get this done.”)
2. Are universal. (“You can’t trust any of those people.”)
3. Are their own fault. (“I’m terrible at this.”)

Optimists, well, they see it the exact opposite:

1. Bad things are temporary. (“That happens occasionally but it’s no big deal.”)
2. Bad things have a specific cause and aren’t universal. (“When theweatheris better that won’t be a problem.”)
3. It’s not their fault. (“I’m good at this but today wasn’t my lucky day.”)