Purposeful Growth

Positive psychology studies indicate a positive attitude, along with an optimistic outlook and positive thinking, can bring better health and greater happiness.

Positive attitude, positive thinking, and optimism are now known to be a root cause of many positive life benefits–the good life and well being. You’ll live longer and be healthier and happier with a positive attitude toward life. In addition, you’re

more likely to be successful. Learn to use the power of thinking positive, adopting positive attitudes, and affirmations to gain important life benefits.

What is Attitude?:

Attitude is a mental position relative to a way of thinking or being; a leaning toward that which you believe. A positive attitude is, therefore, the inclination to generally be in an optimistic, hopeful state of mind.

Psychology Studies Reveal:

A positive attitude and optimistic thinking early in life predict health and well being in later years. Analysis of 99 Harvard graduates found a strong correlation between their optimistic thinking as college students and good health at age 40 and above.

In his ground-breaking book, A Primer in Positive Psychology, Christopher Petersen, PhD, says, “…optimism has demonstrable benefits, and pessimism has drawbacks.” He goes on to say, “…optimism…has been linked to positive mood and good morale; to perseverance and effective problem solving; to academic, athletic, military, occupational, and political success; to popularity; to good health; and even to long life and freedom from trauma.”

Even if you have been a pessimistic, negative thinker for many years, it’s not too late to change your way of thinking and reap the benefits of a positive attitude.

Characteristics of a Positive Attitude and Optimism:

Optimists believe they are accountable for good things and that good things will generally come their way. If something bad comes instead, optimists tend to write it off as an isolated incident, an anomaly, or something out of their control; optimists believe things will be better in the future.

Positive Thinking Takes Practice:

If you’re a person whose first thoughts about the meaning of something that’s happened are negative thoughts, be encouraged by the knowledge that the first step toward a positive attitude and positive thinking is to simply think another thought. Thoughts are under your control. Your pessimistic way of thinking is habit; habits can be changed.

• When you catch yourself thinking a pessimistic thought about an event in your life, first evaluate the evidence. What are the facts–not the fears–but the facts?
• Next, think of alternate explanations and future outcomes. When your old car suddenly makes a strange noise you may jump to the pessimistic conclusion that repair will be costly, but maybe a minor repair will solve the problem.
• Remind yourself to follow this approach with a daily affirmation such as this: When I have a negative thought I immediately evaluate the facts and think of positive alternatives that also fit the facts.

Practice the positive thinking approach outlined above and you’ll find it soon comes naturally. You may be amazed to realize that you simply feel better with a positive attitude.

Learn to use positive affirmations to reinforce your attitude. Instructions for powerful positive affirmations are here.

Using your unique core strengths is always a positive experience.

If you like this article you may also like How to Cheer Up.

More related material here.

This article first appeared in the Personal Development Topic at Suite101.com.

John Izzo’s The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die reveals the recipe for living happy and dying well. This is a terrific little handbook for successful living, unique due to Izzo’s research methodology.

There are two ways to learn life’s lessons. The first is the school of hard knocks, learning by experience is effective, though hard, and requires that we live long enough to learn and benefit from the learning.

The second, an easier way, though not always as effective, is to listen to those who have gone before. Most of us use a combination of the two. Izzo’s book provides an excellent view of life from those who have lived long, wisely, happily, and are still around to expound for the rest of us. Following is an introduction from Izzo.

What are the secrets to happiness and meaning? Why do some people find a deep sense of purpose while they are here and die with few regrets while others end their lives bitter and disappointed?

About two years ago I set out to answer that question by asking several thousand people to identify the one person they knew who had lived a long life and found true happiness. It seemed to me that each of us knows at least one person who achieved true success. After receiving over 1,000 nominations, I interviewed 235 people from the age of 59-106 (who had over 18,000 years of life experience) asking them to reflect back on their lives: What brought happiness? What gave meaning? What did they regret? What did they wish they had learned sooner? What did not matter in the end?

These “wise elders” were an incredibly diverse group ranging from a town barber to CEO’s, from poets to native chiefs, Holocaust survivors to war veterans, and represented all the major religions and cultures of our society. My goal was not to interview famous people but to identify ordinary people who had found extraordinary happiness. What I discovered were five clear themes of what it means to live a happy and

meaningful life (and to die with a smile on your face). In my new book, The Five Secrets You Must Discover before You Die, I share the five true paths to finding meaning in life and show how we can live these secrets.

The first secret I learned from these interviews is Be true to yourself. Each one of us is on a unique human journey and the path to true happiness is to be true to ourselves. This means knowing what brings us happiness and focusing our life on what matters to us. It means reflecting on a regular basis as to whether our life fits our soul. In our daily lives it means knowing what brings us joy and ensuring that we fill our life with the right elements. It also means following our unique destiny. One of the people I interviewed was a Latino woman who talked about the importance of following our “destina.” The idea is that each of us has a path that is most true to us, which is not so much a destination as a way we are meant to be in the world. For example, I am a teacher and philosopher by nature and when I stay close to that path I experience true joy.

Being true to self often means drowning out other voices that would ask us to live their dreams instead of ours. Ron, a gifted chiropractor, told me the story of how he planned to become a medical doctor but when he visited a chiropractor shortly before starting medical school he discovered a profession that connected to his true self. “Others told me I was crazy but I knew it was my path.” He told me that to follow your heart you must have the “discipline to listen and the courage to follow.” This means asking if the life we are living is true to our deepest sense of self and it sometimes requires a step of courage to follow our soul. Are you being true to yourself right now?

For the remaining four secrets, see my full article review, Five Secrets You Must Discover.