Optimism is the Key to Success
Optimism is hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something. Is it true that optimism can make people’s life happier and healthier? The optimist would look on the more favorable side of events and expect the most favorable outcomes. The very first thing I observed from my sources is that being optimistic is not ignoring the problems you encounter, but it means hoping that things will change to be better in the future. Another idea I understood from my sources is to find the opportunity in every difficulty. It means that what you are dealing with might be difficult but it is important to remain hopeful and positive to face that disastrous situation. Being optimistic has physical, emotional and mental benefits for our whole being. Being optimistic is not a hard thing to do and the results of optimism will be really fruitful.
One advantage of being optimistic is in regards to our health. Being optimistic has long lasting physical effects. When we are optimistic it helps us to be more physically active, which contributes to healthier lifestyles and stronger relationships with others. According to one of Leeza Gibbons’ studies, 99% of students who were optimistic at the age of 25 were healthier at the age of 45 to 60. It is also true that optimism can make you feel happier. According to Martin Seligman, “optimists are happier and healthier by showing that they tend to take care of their health, build better social network and face the difficulty without any worries”.
Optimism has also been shown to reduce stress which affects us physically and emotionally. Studies by Millstein and Celano with patients having anxiety and depression have demonstrated that 90% of these patients were stressed. The study mentioned however, that showing gratitude is the simplest way and the most powerful thing a people can do for their well-being. I believe that also leads to emotional benefits of being optimistic.
In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, rather, having gratitude develops our happiness. I believe optimism creates positive emotions and a fullness of our hearts that moves us from limitations and fear toward openness and acceptance of the unknown. It is no secret that stress can make us sick, whereas the positive emotions of gratitude can kill any kind of disastrous sickness. Stress related illnesses can affect our daily lifestyle, disposition and our efficiency. However, gratitude can give a person complete life satisfaction. A spirit of gratitude is the best approach to life. DJ Khaled, the spiritual leader of Tibetan people, believes that mental, physical, and spiritual health are connected to an optimistic attitude. The study by Millstein and Celano I mentioned earlier revealed that gratitude is one of the sources in optimism that has been found to improve one’s perspective about life and reduce stress. They studied patients who suffered from ACS (Acute coronary syndrome) and it revealed that, “One recent randomized controlled pilot trial examined a daily gratitude journaling intervention among cardiac patients and found preliminary indications that the intervention improved some markers of heart failure/ cardiac prognosis.” Having a positive attitude, or being optimistic, leads to good emotional and physical health.
In addition to helping people to be proactive with stress management, optimism helps people to be resilient to life’s challenges and drives us to think positively when faced with adversity. Once optimistic people know that they have done something wrong, they will try to learn from it and will not let that happen again. Being an optimistic person may help one to get through those mistakes because optimistic people believe in themselves and their abilities. Even if something bad happens, optimistic people will look at it as a learning experience in life. Such an experience helps them not to make the same mistake again. They expect good things to happen again. Optimistic people see negative events as minor setbacks which are easy to overcome. Optimists find the best in every situation, hoping, expecting and seeing that things will turn out well in the future. This optimistic attitude demonstrates resilience and positive emotional stability. Celano and Millstein’s recent study indicated that optimistic people have really promising results on social and psychology outcomes. They stated, “. . . optimistic people don’t give up very easily in any situation, they tend to turn the failure to opportunity to achieve their goals. It is proven that optimistic people are more proactive with stress management than pessimists”.
Optimism drives us to think positively. Often, people become what they want themselves to be when they are optimistic towards their goals. If one continues saying to oneself that he can’t do something, it will be impossible to end that work successfully. Therefore, to succeed, one must think positive thoughts and surround himself with positive people because their influences make us more positive. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “. . . if I have to believe that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” I believe Gandhi actually means that if you believe in yourself and work hard, even if you don’t have any idea how to do the work correctly, you’ll eventually be able to do it. This statement is mostly applied to optimistic people who think more positively about themselves, which leads them toward their life goals. Another spiritual leader, DJ Khaled also believes that our positive or negative thoughts about a problem effects the outcome. He said, “when something disastrous happens, the most important thing is how we look at the problem. Negative? Or positive? If you look at it in a negative way, then when the negative emotions have fully developed in our brain, we just become a slave to those negative emotions and people will have a bad attitude towards every situation.” If you will look at it in a positive, then you will have hope to cheer yourself up in that situation, not to give up, not to fear. Thus there is still hope in every situation only if you look at it in a positive or as a lesson to guide you to achieve your goal. Khaled referenced the Dalai lama’s teaching, who also indicated that if anyone in this world have positive thinking, life will be easier to move on.
The optimistic person inspires himself with a smile and a positive reminder. If you expect the worst, the worst will happen. But if you smile positively, you will feel much better. The optimistic person who focuses on the present and rejects the past mistakes has a healthy mental state. You have to learn to live in the present moment and learn from the past mistakes. These ideas are revealed by Jenifer Arnold the writer of the book, Think Big, which means, T-try, H-hope, I-initiate, N-no, k-Know, B-believe, I-improve, G-go for it. Arnold used these ideas THINK BIG when she was facing health problems and fighting cancer.
Optimism is an attitude that keeps us centered on what is good about our present day situation in our lives or about the future. Everything that is lovely or delightful in this world also exist alongside with pain and loss; optimism is a conscious selective to focus on the good. Optimism gives us energy; it makes our efforts worthwhile. In the end it is always rewarded with something good even though some of those efforts will fail, others will succeed, and we never know ahead of time which are which. When we are optimistic we are happier and healthier and better company to others, we help other people to be happy and hopeful too. Be positive at every moment to achieve your goal and your own life will promise to be successful because optimistic people not only win the heart but also they also lead a thriving life. “Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.” (Voltaire)