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The Optimism Option

If you’re happy and you know it, you just might live longer.

Despite the stress-inducing intrusions of the modern world, some people cope far better with stress than others, and as a result, stay far healthier. That’s because these individuals have managed to maintain an instinctive connection to optimism. Optimism is more akin to a feeling, not a thought, which motivates us toward thoughts and behaviors that improve our well-being.

Take a moment to consider the following questions:

1. When you think about the past, do you recall successes more easily than failures?
2. Do you usually attribute positive outcomes to yourself or to luck?
3. When you think about the future, do you expect the best?
4. Do you believe that something positive can be found in most negative situations?
5. Do you feel that things usually don't work out for the best for you?
6. Do you find it hard to count on good things to happen to you?

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If you answered yes to the first four questions and no to the last two, you are likely an optimist. If you said no to the first four questions and yes to the last two, you are likely a pessimist. Being either an optimist or a pessimist can have a significant effect on your mental and physical health.

Optimism is the feeling that, despite frustrations and setbacks, things will turn out okay. Optimists, by nature, feel secure about themselves, the world and the future. They focus on and expect positive experiences, are more likely to attribute positive outcomes to themselves and believe they can influence events through their actions. Optimists also expect the best when faced with uncertainty, view setbacks as temporary, count on good things to happen and remember successes better than failures.

Happy and Healthy
While optimists certainly experience the full range of thoughts and emotions, their positive attitudes and beliefs create a mental filter that lets in primarily positive thoughts while blocking negative ones. Optimists do not experience as many negative thoughts and they can change from negative to positive thinking more easily. They also experience more positive mood and greater feelings of self-esteem and well-being than pessimists.

In contrast, pessimists hold persistent negative beliefs about themselves, events and the future and are more likely to see negative events in the worst possible light. They interpret negative events:

personally (they blame themselves for the events);
permanently (they see bad events as never-ending and think in terms of "always" and “never"); and
pervasively (they believe negative events will undermine everything).
Pessimists experience more illness because negative beliefs induce stress, which impairs health. Pessimists also have weaker social support systems, which is a further risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality. Pessimists may encounter more slips, fender benders and household mishaps because the bad moods that characterize pessimism may distract them or lead to more risky behaviors. This is a double whammy, because such negative events can then trigger even more unhealthy stress reactions.

Optimism is linked to happiness and achievement, and may actually increase life expectancy. It improves health and health behaviors, reduces susceptibility to disease and enhances recovery from disease. One study found that a pessimistic personality style predicted which college students would report more sick days and visits to a physician. Another study found that, of men who suffered their first heart attack, optimists were significantly more likely to be alive almost ten years later than pessimists. And in a major study involving members of the Harvard University classes of 1939 through 1944, men were rated on levels of optimism and pessimism at age 25, then tracked for 30 years. Overall, the men who were pessimistic at age 25 were less healthy and had more chronic illness later in life than the men who were optimistic. Other studies show that optimistic people recover faster from surgery, have fewer medical complications during and after surgery and exhibit stronger measures of immune functioning than pessimists.

Turn that Frown Upside Down
The good news is that you can learn to become more optimistic. One technique for promoting optimistic thinking is the use of a mental checklist involving the Three Ps when you encounter adversity or negative situations: P ersonal, Permanent, Pervasive.

PPersonal means to avoid blaming yourself for negative events, particularly those that are beyond your control. Accepting personal responsibility for something is logical only when you’re dealing with something that you can truly influence; things like the actions of others are not realistically under our control. Permanent means to avoid seeing negative events as never-ending. If you receive a poor grade on an exam, don't believe that you will perform poorly on subsequent exams. Similarly, a job interview that doesn't lead to an offer should not create the belief that you will never land a job. See the future in terms of what you can do instead of what you can't do. Pervasive means to avoid generalizing a problem to your whole life. If a relationship doesn't work out, don't tell yourself that your relationships always turn sour. If you throw a party that flops, don't tell yourself, "I can’t do anything right."

You can also turn the Three Ps around to think about positive events in optimistic ways. For example, when you encounter positive events, do view them as permanent ("things tend to go well for me most of the time"), pervasive ("lots of things in my life are going well") and personal ("this happened because of my abilities"). See the Truestar Twelve Daily Success Habits for more ways to enhance a positive attitude.

Another technique for strengthening optimistic thinking is optimistic affirmations—positive beliefs that you repeat to yourself regularly: "I expect the best when faced with uncertainty." "For every obstacle, there is a solution." "I can handle this." Repeat optimistic affirmations to yourself when encountering adversity, thinking about the future, or before going to sleep. Over time, these affirmations will become more automatic and unconscious than the pessimistic beliefs you’ve become accustomed to.

Here are three more ideas for strengthening optimistic thinking. Monitor your progress toward optimism with the Truestar Daily Life Improvement Checklist:

Practice an "attitude of gratitude." Optimists amplify positive thinking through appreciation. If you focus on what you have and on positive events in daily life, the negatives in life don't loom so large. Instead of thinking about what you lack and your shortcomings and difficulties, consider those things that you appreciate: good health, family, friends, work, something you look forward to, or something as simple as what someone did for you today. We can all find many positives in the course of the day if we look for them.

Limit your exposure to the media. The media saturates our minds with pessimistic stories about the dangers that lurk around every corner.

Avoid pessimists and seek out optimists. Optimism and pessimism are contagious. The next time you’re thinking negatively, spend time with a young child. Children's boundless optimism is inspiring and infectious; their excitement fuel for positive thinking. Just the laughter of a child can make the most pessimistic person smile.

Optimism is not only about healthier thinking; it is about the power to choose one's attitudes. Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. You can choose to be an optimist, and with enough determination, you can make that choice a reality. Explore the Truestar Attitude section for more information on cultivating positivity.

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