Attitude is everything. It’s how we view the world. Our attitude affects how we act and feel in everyday life. Optimistic people have a positive expectancy that helps to achieve the goal at hand. It’s with this can-do attitude that we take action to accomplish our goals. Pessimistic people have a very passive attitude. Focusing on what they can’t do.
The Mayo Clinic conducted a study that showed that, on the average, optimistic people live longer than their counterparts. The University of Pennsylvania also conducted a study in which it tracked 120 men who had suffered one heart attack. After 8 years they found that 80% of the pessimistic men died of a second one compared to only 30% of the optimists.
A positive attitude may not always work for you but a negative one is always guaranteed to work against you. Think about it, what usually happens when you wake up and decide that you’re going to have a bad day?
Here are some things that optimistic people use every day to keep a good attitude and a positive outlook on life.
Pessimists often believe that a problem or bad situation is going to last forever while optimists know that when they experience a setback that these disappointments are only temporary rather than permanent. This is generally true; things usually do get better over time.
Unlike pessimists who let their troubles and doubts affect areas of their lives, optimists are able to put their problems in a “box” and allow themselves to not be distracted by them, letting them concentrate on the task at hand.
Optimists internalize victories and externalize defeat. Here are some examples of how they would react to different situations. “I did it, I accomplished my goals. I messed up, but that’s O.K. I’ll do better tomorrow.”
Pessimists do the exact opposite, saying things like “I just got lucky. It’s all my fault, I’m such a loser.” It’s been said that 10% of life is what happens and 90% is how you take it. So let me ask you this, what kind of attitude do you have?
