The Power of Optimism

Hope is not just being optimistic!  However, it stands to reason that people that are more optimistic tend to be more hopeful.  There are also perks that come to people that are optimistic!  For example:  according to researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, there are health benefits to being optimistic including lower cholesterol levels and better blood sugar control.  In the same study optimistic people were also physically more active, less likely to smoke and more likely to be in optimal cardiovascular health. Researches have also found that optimistic people had better immune systems, pain tolerance, improved recovery from cancer, and better pregnancy outcomes.  Optimistic people cope better with stress and find ways to avoid or decrease their stress levels that can have a negative impact on health.

Being optimistic and thinking positively can have a tremendous impact in our lives and what we can do and achieve. The following true story illustrates this:

On July 18, 1944 Arne Andersson set the world record in the mile at 4:01.6.  By 1954 over 50 Medical Journals published articles saying it was humanly impossible to run the mile in under 4 Minutes. A young English medical student didn’t believe them. He believed that if he trained his mind, his body would follow.  He refused to limit his own potential.  He began to train with that end in mind and on May 6, 1954 he ran the mile in 3:59.4 breaking the world record by 2.2 seconds.  The runner’s name – Roger Bannister.  He held the world record for only six weeks; Australian John Landy broke his record on June 21, 1954.  Landy admitted that he was just as capable of breaking 4 minutes in the mile six weeks before Bannister as he was 6 weeks after, but he didn’t think it could be done.  After Bannister did the impossible, other long standing track and field records also began to fall as athletes reasoned that if Bannister could break the 4-minute mile then they could do great things too.

Roger Bannister won the battle of the mind!

Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman in Learned Optimism taught, “People who believe they cause good things tend to like themselves better than people who believe good things come from other people or circumstances.

Habits of thinking need not be forever. One of the most significant findings in psychology in the last twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think. 

Why should we bother to learn to think optimistically? Isn't pessimism just a posture with no real effects? Unfortunately not. I have studied pessimism for the last twenty years, and in more than one thousand studies, involving more than half a million children and adults, pessimistic people do worse than optimistic people in three ways: First, they get depressed much more often. Second, they achieve less at school, on the job, and on the playing field -- much less than their talents would suggest. Third, their physical health is worse than that of optimists. So holding a pessimistic theory of the world may be the mark of sophistication, but it is a costly one.”

How do we change our thinking?  It starts with realizing that the most important decision you make each day is your choice of an attitude. 10% of life is what happens to you, and 90% how you react.  How you react to adversity, bad news, pain, suffering, setbacks, and other negative life events is 100% up to you!

Focus on what you have, not what you don’t have – what you can do, not what you can’t do – what you have accomplished, not what is still left undone!

Many of us feel the pressures of life closing in around us.  This pressure can jade our view and influence our paradigms – or how we view the world and lead us to be pessimistic.  Realize that much of the pressure we feel is artificial and applied by the one staring back at us in the mirror.  Take a step back, give yourself a break, and prioritize!

Fear Not!  This too shall pass!

The great baseball manager Branch Rickey was asked once to describe his greatest day in baseball.  He said, “I can’t because I haven’t had it yet!”  Your greatest days are ahead of you not in the rearview mirror.

Remember; one of the most significant findings in psychology in the last twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think. 

Now are these suggestions a panacea for all pessimistic thoughts – no, but it’s a good start. If you consistently apply these principles it will change your life for the better – I know because they have changed mine!

If you have suggestions on how to think more optimistically drop me a line and I’ll add them to this post.

Have a great week!