HJ: As a powerful creator being, the choice to be optimistic or pessimistic in ones approach to life holds the power to profoundly alter your reality beyond belief. Whether you believe you have power of the course of your life, or not, then it is so, for your reality is shaped by your belief. Do you choose to live in a reality of optimism in which life is filled with constant growth, opportunity, possibility and improvement or do you choose to live in a reality of pessimism, where you constantly struggle in an endless battle with your own perceptions — the literal definition of a self-imposed prison! Do you choose to see obstacles as something to overcome, making you stronger in the process, or do you choose to see them as reasons to never begin trying in the first place?
Optimism is not a denial of reality, it is an interpretation of it. Optimists choose to acknowledge events in their lives for what they truly are: incredible opportunities for growth and understanding.
On another note, the research continues to mount showing our worldview affects our health on every level. Our cells respond directly to our energetic vibration. What types of emotions is a pessimist more likely to experience? Doubt, frustration, hopelessness, judgement, fear (mostly subconsciously based, which is insidious)… On the contrary, what types of emotions does an optimist broadcast? Hope, excitement, positivity, happiness, gratitude, appreciation, love…
To me, at least, the choice is crystal clear…
– Truth
Why Optimists Live Longer
By Dr. Fabrizio Mancini | Heal Your Life
How positive thoughts can heal.
TRY THIS SIMPLE EXPERIMENT with me: Get a small drinking glass and fill it with water. Next, drink or pour out about half the water. Sit down and look at the glass.
Think for a moment about the old saying: the pessimist sees the glass as half empty, and the optimist sees it as half full. Then think about yourself, imagining that you are like that glass, and the water represents your level of health. Are you half full of health? Or half empty?
I’m a half-full person – an optimist, if the term is properly defined. True optimism is not synonymous with Pollyannaism. Nor is it blind foolishness, like the partygoer who insists that he’s “sober enough” to drive home. If you’re a true optimist, you believe that you can control your destiny, turn a negative into a positive, and find meaning in a bad situation. Optimists rarely give up, and because they hang in there, they usually succeed.
By contrast, pessimists feel out of control. There are many common phrases that capture the essence of pessimism: “seeing the glass half empty” or “the sky is falling.” Both phrases express the belief that problems will persist, and no amount of problem-solving will help.
Optimism and Self-Healing
I’m sure you know where I’m going with this: Optimistic thinking makes you healthier. If you’re an optimist, you feel you can take charge of and influence your health for the better. Suppose a doctor told you that you need to lose weight and start working out. The optimist in you would say: “The doctor’s right. I’ve been eating too much junk food. I need to eat more fruits and vegetables, and cut back on calories. I’m going to start going to the gym at least three times a week.”
[smartads]
The same words from a doctor might lead your pessimistic best friend to say, “Oh, forget it. It’s too hard – I can’t stick to it!” Pessimists feel helpless, so they never get motivated to make healthy choices. The messages they tell themselves become negative self-fulfilling prophecies.
Even science tells us that optimism is self-healing. A number of years ago, psychologists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh followed a large group of heart-bypass patients and rated them on an optimism scale. They found that the most optimistic patients were less likely to suffer a heart attack in the course of the surgery (which can happen), suffered fewer complications, and recovered faster.
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Read the rest of the article here: Heal Your Life
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Dr. Fabrizio Mancini, is an internationally acclaimed bi-lingual speaker, author, educator, philanthropist, and president of one of the leading Universities in the world.
