The optimist tries to learn from mistakes and troubles, and mistakes make the optimist more hardy and capable with dealing with stress.
Of course, optimism can be taken to a ridiculous extreme. It is silly to say that it is always 'for the best in the best of all possible worlds,' like Professor Pangloss from Candide. When a loved one passes away from cancer, this is not 'for the best,' and the optimist still feels pain. However, the optimist says that no experience is purely for the worst, and at least powerful lessons can be learned form the experience about always living life to the fullest, and the positive outlook that their loved one was able to have, even at the end. A pessimist simply looks at the sky and wails 'why me, why must terrible things happen,' without realizing that death is inevitable for everyone, and it is incumbent upon all human beings to take positive lessons from life, both the good and the bad.
Scientific studies indicate that pessimism can be hazardous to human health: studies have found that patients recovering from coronary artery surgery who expected a positive outcome and had an optimistic outlook recovered more quickly than patients who did not (Weil 2004). Optimism also seems to lowers the risk of heart disease in general (Weil 2004). This may be due to the hormonal surge of endorphins happiness brings -- or simply that the viewpoint of an optimist promotes health. A pessimist may say 'there is nothing I can do about my weight' while an optimist will vow to reform his or her eating habits and lifestyle, thinking 'change is possible.' These are examples of how a person's mood can create their...
The study also found that pessimism and is more often associated with neuroticism and negative emotions than and optimism. This study concluded that not being pessimistic was more important than being optimistic. Sweeney & Sheppard (2010) found that optimism could have its disadvantages when someone must receive bad news. Pessimism allows the person to "brace" themselves for bad news and to develop coping skills to help deal with the event.
Pessimist The Makings of a Pessimist "Lance" is a pessimist. It seems he always expects the worst out of life. If he is invited to go out with friends, he asks a number of questions, all in a negative tone: Why do you want to do that? How long do you think we'll be? What if we get stuck in traffic? Can't find it? Don't enjoy it? Get hurt? It sometimes makes
al, 396). The study is also important because it outlines predictors of dispositional behavior. These include among other things the patients emotional well-being, understanding of their illness, general perception of their health and familial support. Giltay, et. al, (2004) examine the relationship between dispositional optimism and all-cause mortality. Their findings suggest that a protective relationship exists between dispositional optimism and health. The study specifically found that of 941 subjects, the
I think you have to learn to laugh at yourself to be successful in life, and I think you have to laugh at what life throws you. I think having a good sense of humor helps me look at life more optimistically, and helps me get through tough times. Some of my more pessimistic friends seem to revel in the bad things that happen to them. They mope, they
Optimist Person You would definitely agree that optimism and positive attitude are the keys to the personal success and personal growth. Optimist is an enthusiastic person with a positive attitude in every situation and who is able to exploit situation for the most benefit at least to satisfy his consciousness. When you meet an optimistic person you notice the stream of positive energy that surrounds him like an oriole and which often
Speech -- Power of Optimism The Power of Optimism: How Optimism can Help Make for a Better Life Speech Outline The Power of Optimism: How Optimism can Help Make for a Better Life Attention Grabber: What is optimism? Why should we want to make our lives better? What is the power of optimism? How can people become more optimistic? How can people harness the power of optimism to improve their lives? The problem with life
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