Blended Learning Journey

This series has aimed to explore how hope, optimism, and the stories we tell ourselves shape how we live, learn, and persevere through adversity. In the first post, we saw how learned helplessness can develop and transform into pessimism. In the second post, we explored optimism, including what it is, why it matters, and how it can be cultivated as both a mindset and a skill. In the final installment, we’ll explore the importance of explanatory style and why it’s one of the most powerful tools we can teach our students (and ourselves).

The Story We Are Taught

I am an optimist. I can find the good in just about anything. It’s one of the traits I like most about myself, and, according to the research, it’s a great trait to have! Optimists are less likely to develop depression when faced with setbacks. They are gritty. Optimism is associated with a stronger immune system functioning and lower rates of cardiovascular disease. They generally have more satisfying relationships than pessimists (Seligman, 2006). 

At this point, I bet it almost sounds like I’m bragging. But here’s the truth: I wasn’t born an optimist. I learned to be one—and my mom is to thank for that. Throughout my childhood, she had a habit of “thinking out loud.” When something went wrong, she’d reframe it with a simple comment like, “Well, now I know what not to do,” or “Someday we’ll laugh about this,” or my personal favorite, “Maybe this is making room for something better.” The ability to reframe a negative situation may be the most powerful of all the gifts my mom gave me,

The Story We Tell Ourselves

Our explanatory style is how we explain the causes of events in our lives – good and bad. It’s the lens through which we interpret setbacks and success. Two people can face the same setback and tell very different stories. One thinks, “This always happens. I’ll never get it right.” Another says, “That didn’t go well, but I can do better next time.” Those interpretations matter. They shape our motivation, confidence, relationships, and even our health.

There are three critical dimensions to explanatory styles: permanence, pervasiveness, and personalization. Our experiences are filtered through three powerful questions:

• Are setbacks temporary or permanent?
• Does failure apply everywhere, or just in this one situation?
• Do we take all the fault, or recognize what is beyond our control?

How we answer those questions often determines whether we stay stuck in helplessness or move forward with hope.

Seligman (2006) found that pessimists tend to believe bad events will last a long time, affect everything they do, and are their own fault, which makes them more likely to give up and experience depression. Optimists, on the other hand, see defeat as temporary, limited to a specific situation, and not reflective of their entire identity. They recover faster, stay engaged longer, and keep moving. 

Rewriting The Story

Explanatory styles don’t develop in isolation. Our experiences at home, in school, and later in the workplace shape them. Each environment models how to respond to both success and failure. Parents and caregivers, like my mom, are often the first and most powerful teachers of explanatory style. Children closely observe how adults react to setbacks, the language they use, and the expectations they set. These cues influence how children learn to interpret challenges. For instance, a parent who frames a poor grade as a temporary setback sends the message that effort and persistence can lead to improvement. In contrast, a parent who treats the same grade as evidence of low intelligence may unintentionally teach the child to see setbacks as permanent and uncontrollable, planting the seeds of helplessness.

Teachers also play a powerful role in shaping students’ explanatory styles. Every bit of feedback, classroom discussion, and reframing of mistakes reinforces the belief that effort matters and improvement is possible. By normalizing struggle and highlighting growth instead of failure, teachers model optimism and resilience. Over time, these interactions accumulate into the stories students tell themselves about who they are and what they can become.

The Story That Changes the Outcome

Curious how explanatory style shows up in daily life, or how to help students build optimism? Here are two practical tools you can use. 

1. Seligman’s Optimism Test: If you’d like to learn more about your explanatory style, I recommend taking Seligman’s Optimism Test at Authentic Happiness. The test breaks down explanatory style across different dimensions, showing that it’s possible to think optimistically in one area while being more pessimistic in another. You can also retake the test over time to track how your thinking patterns shift.

2. Silver Linings Challenge: The Greater Good Science Center is another great resource for resources on this topic. If you would like to learn more about optimism, pessimism, and explanatory styles, consider listening to the podcast, “How to Find Your Silver Linings.” Interested in incorporating this into your class? Try the “Finding Silver Linings” activity. Students begin by listing five good things in their lives, which primes them to notice the positive. Then, they recall a recent setback and write three “silver linings”—small benefits, lessons, or opportunities hidden in the challenge. Over time, this exercise trains the mind to see possibility in difficulty, building resilience and hope.

Takeaways

This series has explored how learned helplessness, optimism, and explanatory style shape our hope, resilience, and persistence. From the rats who swam longer when given reason to believe, to the students who find strength in reframing setbacks, the message is clear: hope is not just a feeling. It’s a skill we can teach, practice, and live. The bottom line? 

When we change the story, we change the outcome.

Take care,
Cori

References

Compton, W. C., & Hoffman, E. (2020). Positive psychology: The science of happiness and flourishing (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The how of happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you want. New York, NY: Penguin Press.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. New York, NY: Vintage Books.