Staying Positive Difficult Situations: Why Optimism is better than Pessimism
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If the goal is to maximize healthy outcomes, optimism, especially in difficult situations, is more effective than pessimism.
The ability to stay optimistic - even in difficult situations - can lead to improved health for individuals. Dharna Sharma, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Akal University, describes optimism as “a penchant to anticipate favourable things in the future”. With this definition in mind, we can explore how an optimistic mindset can improve health outlooks. Firstly, optimism leads to enhanced financial health. Secondly, optimism improves mental health. Finally, optimism promotes physical health.
Optimism boosts financial health, which refers to the ability to save money and make wise investments with adequate returns. Optimistic individuals are able to look at the positive aspects in future investments, giving necessary funding to projects that would be overlooked by a financial pessimist. Optimistic individuals still prepare for negative situations as well. In the Harvard Business Review, Michelle Gielan writes, “We found that 90% of optimists have put money aside for a major purchase, compared to 70% of pessimists. Nearly two thirds of optimists have started an emergency fund, while less than half of pessimists have. Additionally, optimists are more likely to seek out and follow advice from someone they trust”. While optimists imagine the best outcomes of a situation, they do not necessarily turn a blind eye to reality, making better financial decisions than pessimists on average.
Another benefit of optimism is improved mental health. Optimistic individuals are less likely to have stress and more likely to have a better self-image. Additionally, optimists will be able to cope with stress better than a pessimist since they will be able to see the best possible outcomes. In the journal article “OPTIMISM AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH”, Dharna Sharma, Assistant Professor of Psycology for Akal University, writes,“Various researchers have found a negative correlation between optimism and depressive symptoms and also found an inverse correlation between optimism and suicidal ideation. As such, optimism seems to play a significant moderating role in the correlation between feelings of loss of hope and suicidal ideation”. Therefore, this optimistic mindset is key to a healthy mental state, especially when mental health is challenged by extreme circumstances. The ability to maintain a positive attitude allows individuals to move past their negative feelings and focus on how they can improve their situation, allowing them to better deal with similar situations in the future. The mental health of an individual also contributes greatly to one’s physical health.
An improved mental state, especially one with minimal stress, strengthens physical health. The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada writes, “Being optimistic is associated with biological risk factors such as lower blood sugar and cholesterol. In addition, that positive thinking may boost your immunity and reduce your chances of infection and cancer… Optimistic people had a 15% longer lifespan and 50% greater chance of living past 85 than people with a negative outlook”. And if an individual is diagnosed with a disease, an optimistic mindset can increase the likelihood of survival. Sharma references a 2003 study, describing, “Among patients with neck and head cancer, optimists exhibited significantly better survival a year after diagnosis when compared with pessimists.” All of the aspects of health are closely related. An optimistic mindset improves all of these aspects, such as physical and mental health, simultaneously. By having the belief that he or she can overcome whatever obstacle they are facing, in this case disease, the patient will be more inclined to focus on getting their body right and show more perseverance, increasing the likelihood of their bodies better responding to treatment.
The choice between optimism and pessimism is clear. Since most people want to live long, happy, and healthy lives, optimism is a superior outlook to pessimism. While staying optimistic may not always be easy, there are many ways to stay optimistic. For example, finding pleasure in small things within your everyday life, such as preparing food or walking your dog. Additionally, you can look for meaning within your activities. People with trauma may choose to write about how they are feeling about their experiences for a few minutes each day which may help reduce their stress. Furthermore, if you organize your negative thoughts and figure which ones are untrue, or unnecessary, you can clear your mind to be in a much better place.
The most important implication is that optimism is a distinct choice that can improve an individual’s health. Particularly in difficult situations that lead to unhealthy outcomes, optimism can minimize the impact of hard times. However, one must be aware that being overly optimistic may present problems as well. While optimism does boost one’s confidence, it may also lead people to ignore their faults and be stubborn, trying hard to a fault and exerting more time and energy into a task before admitting the need for change in their approach. By having a good grasp on the effects of optimism, and finding an honest and objective reason to be positive, more people might be inclined to adopt an optimistic outlook in contrast to a pessimistic mindset.