Is your glass half full or half empty? Do you believe your favourite sport team will win the championship? Are you confident that your trip to a new city or country will go smoothly? The answers depend on whether you're an optimist or a pessimist. An optimistic personality doesn't mean you're happy all the time, but it does mean that you tend to look on the bright side of life.

Optimism does have a genetic component, although many other factors are also involved. An AncestryDNA^® + Traits test can indicate the influence of genetics on your sense of optimism.

How Does Optimism Impact Performance?

Optimism is known to impact performance in numerous ways. Since people with optimistic dispositions tend to be more positive than others, they usually believe that things will work out or that there's always a chance things could get better in the future. If you have an optimistic mindset you're likely to see challenges as opportunities to learn rather than stop signs. These attitudes can all have a motivating influence on your performance.

For example, an optimistic person might continue to aim for their dream job, despite the difficulties of even securing an interview. And an aspiring writer might continue to submit their manuscript to different publishers in the hopes of it being acquired. In a relationship, an optimistic person may try to work out problems rather than seeing issues as a sign that the relationship is failing.

Optimism is a trait you can learn on your own, even in adulthood. Certain strategies can help you embrace a positive outlook and gain the same benefits as someone who naturally takes an optimistic stance. Ultimately, you can learn to be optimistic by actively retraining yourself to think positively—it can become habitual the more you work on it.

Optimism is correlated with other personality traits, such as:

• A desire to succeed
• Persistence
• Self-confidence
• Strong leadership skills
• Determination

Genetic Influences on Optimism

Interested in how genetics shapes optimistic personalities, Ancestry^® scientists asked over 235,000 people, "How optimistic are you? Do you tend to think things will work out for the best?" Based on their responses and their genetic profiles, the team found 498 DNA markers relating to optimism.

The scientists then calculated a polygenic risk score, a tool that's used to quantify how likely you are to have a trait just based on your DNA. At the same time, the team determined that while genetics play a small part in having an optimistic personality, environmental factors are much more influential to a person's mindset.

What Else Do Scientists Say About Optimism?

An optimistic mindset primarily comes from factors other than genetics, according to scientists. For instance, an upbringing that includes family stability, warm and supportive relationships, and even financial stability, can influence how likely someone is to develop a positive outlook on life.

Parental optimism also benefits children's psychological well-being, according to a study of 332 youths from China and their parents. While a shared genetic influence may exist between parent and child, the development of a positive mindset may also be explained by children learning optimistic behaviours through imitating their parents.

At the other end of the age scale, a study of 10,146 Australian adults, aged 70 and older, found that several factors contributed to higher levels of optimism. For example, people who were more physically active, who volunteered, and who had more education were more likely to be optimistic. The study also found that these factors supported healthier ageing.

Interesting Insights About Optimism

Optimism can have a range of positive effects, whether you're an optimist by nature or nurture. One study of 121 Uruguayan athletes participating in the Pan-American Games revealed that optimism showed protective effects against burnout and quitting the sport altogether. And another study of 306 medical and paramedical students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran revealed that students' academic optimism correlated with their academic performance.

Research has shown that optimism is a key factor in resilience—a way to overcome adversity. When an optimist faces a particular challenge, they face it head on. Optimists try to figure out how the problem might be solved or they look for ways to accept their situation—to focus on the positive aspects of it.

Would you like to learn more about your genes' influence on different traits? An AncestryDNA^® + Traits test can give you insights into how your genetics may impact personality, performance, and sensory traits, and others. If you've already taken a test, your results are ready to review with an Ancestry^® membership.

 

References

Carver, Charles S. and Michael F. Scheier. "Dispositional optimism." Trends in Cognitive Science. June 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.02.003.

Cherry, Kendra. Using Learned Optimism in Your Life. Verywell Mind. January 15, 2024. https://www.verywellmind.com/learned-optimism-4174101.

Craig, Heather, Danijela Gasevic, et al. "Socioeconomic, Behavioural, and Social Health Correlates of Optimism and Pessimism in Older Men and Women: A Cross-Sectional Study." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. February 13, 2023. doi:10.3390/ijerph20043259.

Dholakia, Utpal M. "When Adversity Strikes, Optimism Helps Us Get Through." Psychology Today. October 30, 2016. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-behind-behavior/201610/when-adversity-strikes-optimism-helps-us-get-through.

Hayat, Ali Asghar, Nafise Emad, et al. "A Comparative Study of Students' Academic Optimism and Hope, and Their Relationships with Academic Achievement." Shiraz E-Medical Journal. October 7, 2022. https://doi.org/10.5812/semj-121136.

Qi, Wei, et al. "Parental Optimism Improves Youth Psychological Well-Being: Family Cohesion and Youth Optimism as Serial Mediators." Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland). September 22, 2022. doi:10.3390/healthcare10101832.

Scott, Elizabeth. "What Is Optimism? How Optimism Affects Your Physical and Mental Health."

Verywell Mind. November 14, 2022. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-benefits-of-optimism-3144811.

Segerstrom, Suzanne C. "Optimism and Resources: Effects on Each Other and on Health over 10 Years." Journal of Research in Personality. October 19, 2006. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2006.09.004.

Tutte-Vallarino, Veronica, Estefania Malán-Ernst, et al. "Relationship between resilience, optimism, and burnout in Pan-American athletes." Frontiers in Psychology. November 14, 2022, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1048033.