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
What do you see when you look out your window?
If you’ve placed second in a 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?
Life is always filled with choices. You can choose to take a pessimist’s view and live a self-defeated life or you may decide to take a more optimistic route to a challenging and fulfilling life.
You may ask, “So why should I nurture an optimist’s point of view? And why now?”
Here is the reason. 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, as we read in the paper and see on the news, 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 teenager’s disorder’ as well. Teenage suicides are on the rise.
Here’s how optimists are in action and research that backs up why it really pays to be an optimist:
Optimists expect the best
The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe that the current bad events they are experiencing will last a long time and undermine everything they do, and that they are their own fault.
The truth is optimists are often confronted with the same difficulties. What differs is the way they look at and define their misfortune. They tend to believe defeat is just a temporary setback, that its causes are confined to this one case. It all depends on your point of view.
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 see bad situations as a challenge and try harder.
They don’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 are also predictors of 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
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.
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.
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.
Optimists persevere. They just don’t give up easily. They are patient, inching their way a step closer to that goal or elusive dream.
Optimists are healthier and live longer. Medical research has demonstrated that simple pleasures and a positive outlook can cause a measurable increase in the body's ability to fight disease. Optimists age well and are much freer than most people from the usual physical ills of middle age.
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?
To a brighter life – BANABU
Fran Watson