Thursday, March 13, 2008

Accentuate the Positive!

Your mental attitude will lead you into the light
or hold you in darkness. It will lead you to hope
or despair, to a glorious success or a miserable failure,
and it is entirely within your own power to
choose which it shall be. ~ Orison Swett Marden


Ah ha! Something I've known for a long time has now been "proven" by modern medicine:

Attitude really does change everything!

More to the point, it has an effect on our health. ABC News carried a story tonight about how a positive attitude can have an impact on the body. Here's an excerpt of what was said:

Conventional wisdom and old wives' tales tout the benefits of a positive attitude, but now Duke University researchers believe a cheerier outlook on life actually may help save lives.

Their study indicated that the difference between optimism and pessimism can affect a person's heart, giving more credence to the mind-body connection.

"This study shows that heart patients who are more optimistic in their outlook are 30-50 percent less likely to die over the nine years following their diagnosis," said Dr. Redford Williams, of Duke University Medical Center.

Researchers suggested optimistic patients may survive longer because they adopt healthier lifestyles, and take their medications as directed. They also are less likely to feel stress, which can damage blood vessels.

30-50% less likely to die, folks. Now that's worth adopting a positive outlook on life!

I've always felt that whatever energy we give to the world comes back to us. So if you put out negative thoughts and words, that's what you draw to yourself. You find bad things often happen to you because that's what you expect to happen. But if we give off positive energy by looking at the glass as half full, we attract positive events and positive people because that's what we expect. That doesn't mean that bad things don't happen to positive people. They sure do! But we have a way of looking for the silver lining, searching out the lesson to be discovered in every hard thing we face.

So now I can admit it: I am a bona-fide, card-carrying optimist! That doesn't mean that I don't get down and depressed. I've had some really tough things happen in my life. But I've grown as a human being and learned something from every one of them. Heck, I'm still learning - and I hope that process never ends.

If you're a pessimist, it's not too late to change your view on life so that you too can reap the benefits of being positive.

What am I saying, though? If you're a pessimist, you probably skipped over this entire post!


Until next time...

5 comments:

Hanlie said...

I so agree with you. The mind/body connection has been scientifically proven (they've found the chemical components and receptors in the body), yet a lot of people still scoff at it. I know that my belief drives me at the moment. Thoughts become things! You'll never convince me otherwise!

Great post, Pattie!

HappyBlogChick said...

I agree 100% - we get back what we send out ... if we're cranky and annoyed people will be cranky and annoyed with us, but if we're understanding and positive people will be understanding and positive with us.

And when it comes to health, it's amazing how much our body and mind work together. Hmmm ... maybe it shouldn't be amazing, because our head is in our body ... but somehow we tend to overlook that connection when we treat illnesses. We really do need a focus on the whole body ... I think Western medicine may FINALLY understand that a little, but we have a long way to go.

Felicia said...

I totally agree!

One of my favorite sayings is "Change your mind and you change your day". ITS TRUE!

Great post!!

*huggles*
=0)

Lora said...

I so totally agree with what you've said. I try really hard to be positive about things. My hubby is a total pessimist. It can be nerve wracking!

Diana Swallow said...

My husband is the eternal optimist and its contagious! Even when life is kicking us we try to find something to make us happy because it just feels better when you focus on the positive things in life.