One of my friends can be a grump. Temperatures dropped recently and it was a beautiful day when I walked outside and saw him tinkering with his car.
“Great day to be outside,” I shouted to him.
“Probably won’t last,” he replied.
“Hey, it’ll be good while it lasts,” I responded. “It feels so good to be outside. I think I’ll take a longer than normal bike ride this morning.”
“You’ll probably be really sore tomorrow,” he commented.
“Yeah, but it will be a good sore,” I said. “I don’t mind getting sore, it means I’ve stretched myself.”
“You can only do that so much then you’ll be in the hospital, like me — getting physical therapy or having people tell you to lose weight,” he concluded before going back into his garage.
Sometimes people ask me why I look on the “bright side” so much. I’ll often reply that it is a life choice. The evidence may not always favor a positive outlook, but it is just a more satisfying way to live.
Apparently, it is also a way to live longer.
A proven way to live longer and better
Researchers from Boston and Harvard universities have found that persons with greater optimism are not only more likely to live longer but also achieve “exceptional longevity,” that is, living to age 85 or older.
Research on the reason why optimism matters so much remains unclear, but the link between optimism and health is becoming more evident, noted Fran Grodstein, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard who led the study.
Another study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society went even deeper. Researchers analyzed more than 150,000 older adults and found that optimism was linked to a variety of physical and emotional health factors.
There is also mounting evidence that optimism serves as a powerful deterrent to various illnesses as we age. Optimists have lower incidences of emotional and physical diseases including cardiovascular diseases.
For instance, Dr. Alan Rozanski, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai hospital in New York, evaluated 15 different studies with more than 200,000 participants and concluded that individuals with higher optimism experience a 35 percent lower likelihood of “cardiovascular events” (heart attacks) than those with significantly lower optimism. Other studies have found that optimists not only get sick less often but also recover faster when they do get sick.
Apparently, optimists don’t just live longer, they also live better longer.
But aren’t we just born with this?
In our discussion of optimism, my friend said optimists get taken advantage of and he was simply protecting himself and his wife by “looking for ways that things can go wrong.” Besides, he said, he just was born the way that he was and there wasn’t much he could do about it.
Apparently, that is not the case. According to research by Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania, both optimism and pessimism are learned responses that develop over time through an individual’s “explanatory style.”
This explanatory style is the habitual way that a person interprets negative outcomes and then decides how to explain them. Optimists, in general, see bad outcomes as specific to various events while pessimists interpret every bad outcome as all-encompassing, pervasive and universal.
Learning optimism is a mindset change. It’s not about changing the facts, but changing our interpretation of them. It requires “letting go” of past interpretations and looking at the same situation in a new light.
I mentioned this change of perspective to my friend. He was unconvinced.
So what if others saw him as a “grumpy old man.” He didn’t care. And at this time of year, he said, he didn’t need to give out as much Halloween candy as I did.
“I’ve seen kids in the neighborhood flock to your house at Halloween each year,” he said. “You get kids from all over town, too. It must cost you a fortune. I turn my lights out and don’t answer the door.”
“We like seeing the neighborhood kids dressed up in their costumes,” I replied. “It’s lots of fun, even for kids we don’t even know. We ask them to tell us something they like about Halloween so we get to learn a little about them as well.”
As he turned and walked away, I wondered if he said “Bah! Humbug!” under his breath.
Some pointers on learning optimism
So, what if you’d like to move in a better direction and cultivate more optimism yourself?
On one level, learning optimism involves challenging negative interpretations of events and testing their universality. It includes asking questions to re-examine our interpretations of events or activities. Here’s a sample to get started:
- What is the evidence for and against my interpretation?
- What are the likely consequences of assumptions that I am making?
- If I assume good intent in others, how might I interpret this situation differently?
- How might someone else who is different from me interpret this event?
- If I tried out a more positive interpretation, how could I also test it in real life and maybe see it in action?
To reiterate, optimism and pessimism are not merely personality traits. They’re something we practice and get better at over time.
That means optimism, like any skill, can be learned through observation, practice and experimentation. One of the most effective and well-researched methods for boosting optimism is deceptively simple. It is called “best possible self” and involves visualization, practice and assessment. Here’s how it works:
- Visualize an outcome: There’s something intrinsically useful about creating a vivid mental picture of a desired outcome. Make it specific, but also make it local. Start small. What is something you might choose to interpret differently in your family, your neighborhood, your community.
- Add a mental rehearsal: How can you test assumptions “in the moment”? How can you get others’ perspectives without getting defensive? How can you assume good intent regardless of the persons involved?
- Write it down: The process of writing helps you become a better observer, more accurate, more detailed. Coupled with visualization, it can enhance the neuroplasticity of your brain and rewire how you think about events and outcomes.
- Talk to a friend: Involve a trusted confidante who can help you test assumptions, examine interpretations, and assume good intent.
- Keep at it: There is an old saying that “by the yard it is hard, but by the inch it is a cinch.” Resolve to be persistent and rigorous in becoming more optimistic.
So, are you convinced? Hopefully enough to practice this even more.
Optimism is not exactly a “magic pill” but it is a significant factor in promoting longevity, reducing age-related illnesses, and finding more satisfaction in life.
Of course, you may need to give out more candy to kids at Halloween, but the neighborhood sugar high will be legendary.