For example, your car won’t start in the morning, so you think the rest of your day is destined to be doomed.īlack-and-white thinking. This means you have one setback and then expect the worst to happen. Do you tend to take on the blame for something bad or disappointing that happens? For example, a friend declines an invitation from you, so you assume it’s because they don’t want to spend time with you. You leave feeling annoyed and frustrated, forgetting about the good time you had. Do you overlook the good things about a situation and get wrapped up in the negatives? For example, you enjoy a fun dinner out with friends, but the restaurant gets your bill wrong at the end of the night. Other studies have shown that positive thinking helps people manage illness and eases depression, regardless of whether they are naturally optimistic or pessimistic.īefore you put positive thinking into practice, look for any negative thoughts that may be running through your mind. In one experiment, adults who meditated daily on positive thoughts started feeling more upbeat emotions each day. It may help to see this positive thinking as a skill you can learn and benefit from, rather than a personality trait you either have or you don’t. That all sounds great, right? But what if you’re naturally more pessimistic, meaning that you tend to expect the worst? No worries. But researchers took that into account, and the results still held. People with a positive outlook may be more likely to live a healthy lifestyle since they have a more hopeful view of the future.

They also had less stress-related inflammation, which shows one possible link between their thoughts and health. When people in one study were exposed to the flu and common cold, those with a positive outlook were less likely to get sick and reported fewer symptoms.ĭuring another study, women who were more optimistic were less likely to die from cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and infection.Īnd in a study of people over the age of 50, those who had more positive thoughts about aging lived longer. Greater resistance to illness such as the common cold.But there is no downside to staying upbeat. It’s not always clear which comes first: the mindset or these benefits. Many studies have looked at the role of optimism and positive thinking in mental and physical health. It simply means you approach the good and the bad in life with the expectation that things will go well.

That doesn't mean you ignore reality or make light of problems. It can have a big impact on your physical and mental health.

Positive thinking, or an optimistic attitude, is the practice of focusing on the good in any given situation.

Optimism definition psychology