6. Permanence Permanence – The pessimistic explanatory type believes that bad events will persist and are always going to affect that person's life. Optimists believe and describe their adversity with qualifiers like, "sometimes", "lately." Generally, an optimist will blame bad events on temporary causes --- causes that can be overcome or that will go away. Permanent (Pessimistic) "I'm all washed up" "Diets never work" "You always nag" "You never talk to me" Temporary (Optimistic) "I'm exhausted" "Diets don't work when you eat out" "You nag when I don't clean my room" "You haven't talked to me lately" Topic: Optimism and Success Pocket Protector Perspective

7. Pervasiveness Pervasiveness - In a pessimistic explanatory style, adversity is seen as "universal." It affects everything it touches. Whereas in a more optimistic explanatory style, will see adversity as having specific causes. Universal (Pessimism) "All teachers are unfair." "I'm repulsive." "Books are useless" Specific (Optimism) "Professor [deBock] is unfair." "I'm repulsive to [her]." "This book is useless." Topic: Optimism and Success Pocket Protector Perspective