Optimism – the Right Answer

Everyday in our lives we are faced with choices to make. We can look at things in a positive way or a negative way.  When two people look at a half a glass of water, their thought process is either it is “half full” or “half empty”.

The person who sees the glass as “half empty” tends to have a pessimistic view of life.  All too often this person’s life is full of negative energy and disappointments.  Whereas the person who sees the glass as “half full” makes the decision to take the optimist’s route and finds success and happiness in all aspects of their life.

Disadvantages of Being a Pessimist

Often today people that lean towards a pessimistic behavior are faced with a higher rate of depression.  Not only middle aged and older adults have this medical disorder but more and more teenagers are experiencing the same syndrome.

One of the significant traits of the pessimist is that they are apt to think that bad situations happen because of them.  They dwell on these bad events thinking that they will last indefinitely and undermine all that they do.

Advantages of Being an Optimist

Most people that approach life in an “optimistic manner” find they are more likely to have a positive attitude.  They are more able to thrive in school and work situations.  They tend to be more popular, live longer, be healthier, and handle challenges much easier.

Optimists Expect the Best

Even though optimists face the same challenges that the pessimists do, they are more likely to “accept as truth” that bad situations are just short-term obstacles.  They tend to believe that the cause of this stumbling block is limited to just this one situation.

Optimists focus on the “problem at hand“. They usually interpret a negative experience in a way that allows them to learn and grow from it. They are not defeated by a bad situation; they consider it a “test” and try even harder.  They don’t waste their time filling their minds with negative banter such as they can’t do it.

The social aspects of being an optimist:

• Optimists are proactive and are not dependent on other people to make them happy.
• They do not try to influence or manipulate others.
• Their hopeful and positive outlook is infectious and can influence those around them.
• People react positively to optimists and are naturally drawn to them.
• Optimists persevere. They are usually patient and refuse to give up on their goals and dreams.

Optimists Enjoy Better Health and Longer Life

Optimists usually experience exceptionally good health. They age well, have less physical ills, and outlive those that have negative attitudes. Medical research has also determined that a positive point of view can help the body fight disease.

Positive Thinking – “The Right Answer”

With all of the above positive reasons why not focus on being an optimist? By thinking positively you will have a more satisfied life.  Be resilient when you experience bad situations and help others look at life in a more optimistic way.

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• How Optimism Helps You Live Longer (lifescript.com)
• Are You a Pessimist or Optimist? (beliefnet.com)
• The Optimist Creed (the-secret-resource.com)
• How to know if you’re a coding optimist or pessimist (codebetter.com)

Tagged with: Life • Mental Health • Optimism • Pessimism • Positive Attitude

Filed under: Life • Self Improvement

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