Enjoy Your Life: Change Your Point of View

"Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud, and one sees the stars."- Frederick Langbridge, A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts

If you’ve placed second in a writing contest, will you jump for joy and push for better results the next time or will you be discouraged and find an excuse not to join again?

In life, you are always filled with choices. You may opt to have a pessimist’s view and live a self-defeated life or you may decide to take the optimist’s route and take a challenging and fulfilling life.

So why nurture an optimist’s point of view? And why now?

Well, optimism has been linked to positive mood and good morale; to academic, athletic, military, occupational and political success; to popularity; to good health and even to long life and freedom from trauma.

On the other hand, the rates of depression and pessimism have never been higher. It affects middle-aged adults the same way it hits younger people. The mean age of onset has gone from 30 to 15. It is no longer a middle-aged housewife’s disorder but also a teen-ager’s disorder’ as well.

Here’s how optimists are in action and researches that back up why it really pays to be an optimist:

Optimists expect the best...  The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe bad events, which will last a long time and undermine everything they do, are their own fault.

The truth is optimists are confronted with the same hard knocks of this world. What differs is the way they explain their misfortune---it’s the opposite way. They tend to believe defeat is just a temporary setback, that its causes are confined to this one case.

Optimists tend to focus on and plan for the 'problem' at hand. They use 'positive reinterpretation.' In other words, they most likely reinterpret a negative experience in a way that helps them learn and grow. Such people are unfazed by bad situation, they perceive it is a challenge and try harder.

They won’t say “things will never get better,” “If I failed once, it will happen again” and “If I experience misfortune in one part of my life, then it will happen in my whole life.”

Positive expectancies of optimists also predict better reactions during transitions to new environments, sudden tragedies and unlikely turn of events. If they fall, they will stand up. They see opportunities instead of obstacles.

People respond positively to optimists...  Optimists are proactive and less dependent on others for their happiness. They find no need to control or manipulate people. They usually draw people towards them. Their optimistic view of the world can be contagious and influence those they are with.

Optimism seems a socially desirable trait in all communities. Those who share optimism are generally accepted while those who spread gloom, panic and hysteria are treated unfavorably.

In life, these people often win elections; get voted most congenial and sought for advice.

When the going gets tough, optimists get tougher...  Optimists typically maintain higher levels of subjective well-being during times of stress than do people who are less optimistic. In contrast, pessimists are likely to react to stressful events by denying that they exist or by avoiding dealing with problems. Pessimists are more likely to quit trying when difficulties arise.

They persevere. They just don’t give up easily, they are also known for their patience. Inching their way a step closer to that goal or elusive dream.

Optimists are healthier and live longer...  Medical research has justified that simple pleasures and a positive outlook can cause a measurable increase in the body's ability to fight disease.

Optimists’ health is unusually good. They age well, much freer than most people from the usual physical ills of middle age. And they get to outlive those prone to negative thoughts.

So why not be an optimist today? And think positively towards a more fulfilled life.

Why not look forward to success in all your endeavors? Why not be resilient? Like everybody else you are bound to hit lows sometimes but don’t just stay there. Carry yourself out of the mud and improve your chances of getting back on the right track. And why not inspire others to remove their dark-colored glasses and see life in the bright side?

Copyright © 2008 by [Epstein LaRue]. All rights reserved.   Republication or redistribution of this website is absolutely prohibited without the prior written consent of Epstein LaRue.  This website is a part of the Epstein Larue Authored Websites, which consist of Epstein LaRue’s Author Homepage, Highway Hypodermics , Travel Nursing Agent, 21st Century Nursing, Crazy Online Romance, Pond Articles, Redneck Possum, Healthy Living Articles, Publishing Success, Traveling Articles, Internet Marketing The Right Way, and Home and Landscape Articles
 

This website contains subjects such as...  self development, mental health, self-help, general health, self improvement, fitness, vitamins, weight loss, skin care, disease processes, diets, detoxifying, chiropractors, dental health, divorce care, healthy eating, healthy aging, personality improvement, parenting skills, social networking, healthy living, healthy living tips, living a healthy lifestyle, free information on healthy living pamphlets, healthy living magazine, healthy living thru dark chocolate, developing countries, life, 10 tips for, book, heart, images, advice young people, roger mason, for life, people with disabilities, programs for children nutrition, fitness, natural, chronic illness, how joy is related, pure, burlington vt, glenn d gordon, define healthy, companies for, benefits, walking excercises and warming for, the doctors' prescription for magazine, the benefits of lifestyle, search living a lifestyle, nutrition challenge, with hepatitis c, lifestyle, jack lalannes recipes, through nutrition, style for hypertension people, quotes, journal, in the developing contries, in developing counties, funding, center, eating, dance mats, work from home, fittness tips, active, exhibitors info for a expo, exhibition healthy living manchester, canadian articles dealing with healthy active living, 100 healthy living tips, specialty shop hong kong, space furniture, recipies, poster, plan, overview diet, market burlington vt, magazine recipes, lifestyle, jounals, gym, guide search, guide, free ebooks resell rights, for child, food, filetype pdf or filetype doc, exercise, event, centers, catalogs, catalog, cake, blood pressure monitor, becker, 10 points advice, joyful sustainable, information living uk, habits for resources, free illustrations, finding balance is the key to, find health, news reviews, articles on, facts about water as it regards, east oxford, consequences of not, christian studies on and eating, center for, center city oklahoma, carol wright's, canada guide, benefits to, bbc health fitness, basic requirements for, article, a speech importance of exercising and yoga