The Follow-Up: How to Achieve Practical Optimism

The PedsDocTalk Podcast: Child Health, Development & Parenting—From a Pediatrician Mom

Dr. Mona Amin

Medicine, Kids & Family, Health & Fitness, Parenting

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2026

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Practical optimism is not about pretending everything is fine or forcing happy thoughts when life feels hard. In this Follow-Up episode, I revisit my conversation with Dr. Sue Varma, psychiatrist, cognitive behavioral therapist, and author of Practical Optimism, to break down what it really means to build a hopeful mindset that is grounded in action, not denial. We talk about how optimism differs from toxic positivity, why some people seem to move through hard things with more resilience, and how this way of thinking can be practiced, even if it does not come naturally. In this episode, we cover: What practical optimism actually is How it differs from toxic positivity and pessimism Whether optimism is something you are born with or something you can practice The eight pillars of practical optimism The three Ps of pessimism and how to spot them Why purpose, self-compassion, and emotional regulation matter How optimism can support mental health, relationships, and parenting Ways to start shifting your mindset in everyday life Want more? Listen to the full, original episode. Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠ page of the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to the follow-up.
0:03.4	Dr. Mona here.
0:04.8	And this is the series of the Pete's Doc Talk podcast where we revisit a favorite conversation
0:09.6	in less time than it takes you to rewire your brain that's been programmed for negativity.
0:14.6	And I'm re-airing today's episode because of a question I got recently in a question box on my Instagram.
0:21.7	Someone asked me, how can I teach my kids about being positive when I'm not really that person, that positive
0:27.7	person? And I thought, well, this is a conversation for you. Because the truth is,
0:33.4	raising, confident, positive kids isn't about forcing positivity or pretending everything is perfect.
0:40.3	What we really need is something called practical optimism. In this episode, I sat down with Dr.
0:46.2	Sue Verma, who is one of my favorite people, confident. She's really helped guide me in my own
0:51.7	book writing. So thank you, Dr. Sue, a psychiatrist, cognitive behavioral
0:55.9	therapist, and author of the book Practical Optimism, The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional
1:01.3	Well-Being. We talk about what practical optimism actually means, how it's different from
1:06.7	toxic positivity and pessimism, and whether optimism is something we're born with or something
1:12.1	we can learn and practice. We also talk about how people survive and even thrive through
1:17.3	really difficult life experiences, the eight pillars of optimism and the three peas of pessimism,
1:22.9	and how this mindset can help us handle the unexpected, especially in parenting.
1:27.8	If this episode resonates with you, make sure you subscribe to the show, download the
1:33.1	episode, just set up those automatic downloads, share it on social media and tag at the
1:37.3	Pete's Doc Talk podcast and at Dr. Sue Verma, D-R-S-U-E-V-A-R-M-A. So we can see that you're listening and love these conversations.
1:47.0	Let's get into this week's follow-up.
1:53.2	So how would you define practical optimism and from your experience and research that you've done?
	...

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