Be positive: Optimism can add years to your life

“Optimism is a cure for many things,” said the famous Canadian-American actor and author, Michael Fox. It seems he was right. A new study has revealed that being optimistic will not only make you a happier person, but it can also help you live a longer life. There is plethora of health benefits already associated with optimism. But this is the first time that science has proved that something as simple and easy as thinking and staying positive always can help you add years to your life.

Optimism is known to reduce your stress levels and promote happiness. It enhances self-respect and integrity in people. Having an optimistic approach towards life can increase your productivity at work and help you deal with all kinds of failure more constructively. It brings happiness to your life and makes you more focused towards your goal. There is an array of other reasons to be optimistic too. But what is more important is that it can make you live longer. Let’s know what the new study has to say.

GREATER OPTIMISM CAN HELP YOU ACHIEVE EXCEPTIONAL LONGEVITY: RESEARCH

According to a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, optimism can potentially extend your lifespan. For this research, scientists enrolled 69,744 women and 1,429 men. All the participants were asked to complete a survey. This survey included questions that asked about their levels of optimism, overall health and daily habits like smoking, diet and alcohol use.

Once the survey was complete, the study team followed all the women participants for 10 years and the men subjects for 30 years. Based on the survey results, researchers saw that people who were most optimistic were likely to live a 11 to 15 per cent longer life compared to those who were least optimistic. The subjects belonging to the former group also had higher odds of reaching the age of 85 compared to those who were the least optimistic. The scientists also took into consideration the age, demographic factors and the health behaviours of the participants.

BANISH NEGATIVITY FROM YOUR LIFE

Want to be positive and live longer? Considering the science-backed benefits of optimism, we are sure you will be looking for ways to correct your way of looking at life. Here is how you can do that.

Replace negative thoughts with positive ones

Being negative is second nature to almost all human beings. And, this is what you need to work upon. The next time you get a negative thought saying, ‘you cannot do this thing’, after finding yourself in a challenging situation, immediately replace this thought with a positive message like ‘I am good enough to face anything’. This may not work right away. But gradually you will see the difference. It will be better if you try to remove the word ‘impossible’ and ‘not’ from your dictionary.

Give importance to your success

Never ignore your achievements, no matter how small they are. To get praise from others, you must first learn to appreciate yourself. This is important for self-confidence. Remind yourself how good you are. Appreciating yourself is what can lead you to the road to longevity.

Get a role model

Almost everyone looks up to someone. You also need to do that. It is not a bad thing to get inspired by someone or follow somebody’s path as far as it is constructive. Your role model does not necessarily have to be a celebrity. He or she can be anyone from among your parents, siblings and friends. It may also be any person you have met recently and found positive and inspiring.

Finding a role model gives you a perspective and a path to follow. Learn from a person’s life. Pick the positive things and not do not even bother to talk about the negatives. This will help you deal with difficult situations with positivity.

Do not focus on the future

Learn to, or at least try to, live in the present at all times. Thinking about what happened in the past or what can happen in the future cannot give anything to you except stress and negative thoughts. Never try to predict your future based on what happened in the past. But it is always good to take lessons from those past situations to avoid any mistakes in your future.

Show gratitude

Gratitude brings peace in life. It also provides a good vision for the future. You may have a tendency to always focus on negativity. It is also believable that you unconsciously fall in the deep well of bad memories. But you need to consciously make efforts to change your focus. Think of all the good things that have happened to you and show your gratitude for them. This will make you happy and help you be optimistic.

Think of a solution and not the problem

If you always crib about your problems and remain unhappy, you are probably a pessimist. Dwelling on the problem only won’t bring about any change in the situation. What can actually help is a solution. So, why don’t you think about that? Figuring out a perfect solution may seem difficult. But this is the only way to succeed and keep going ahead. And, avoid regrets because it can change nothing and will only make you more pessimistic.