Can a person learn to be more optimistic?

Can a person learn to be more optimistic?

Lynn Ianni (Psychotherapist) gives expert video advice on: How do thought patterns affect happiness?; Do happy people think differently from unhappy people?; What are some characteristics of depressed thinking? and more...

I think it's definitely possible to learn to be more optimistic. And in fact, one way you can work on doing that in a very simple way is invite your friends and family to tickle you or nudge you a little bit if you say something self-critical or something that's critical of others. So if you're really working on saying something positive out loud, you will automatically have that reflected in your thoughts because you have to think something in order to say it. So, when you've stopped yourself from saying negative things, when you're forcing yourself to focus more positively, you will then starting thinking more positively automatically, and that'll help you.