In our last +1, we talked about some (more) crazy stats on the power of Optimism.
We have those long-lived nuns and Martin Seligman telling us that he and his colleagues “estimate that being in the upper quartile of optimism seems to have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular risk roughly equivalent to not smoking two packs of cigarettes daily.”
One more time: WOW. 😲
Optimism for the win.
I promised to share a powerful tip from Sonja Lyubomirsky.
In The Myths of Happiness, Sonja tells us: “Whether our optimism is big or little, many of us waver in our expectations of the future. Fortunately, numerous research-tested activities have been shown to boost positive thinking. The most robust strategy involves keeping a journal regularly for ten to twenty minutes per day, in which we write down our hopes and dreams for the future (e.g., ‘In ten years, I will be married and a home owner’), visualize them coming true, and describe how we might get there and what that would feel like. This exercise—even when engaged in as briefly as two minutes—makes people happier and even healthier.”
That’s Today’s +1.
One more time: Optimism.
It does a body good.
How about we move from theory to practice RIGHT NOW?!?
Bust out a piece of paper.
Write down your “hopes and dreams for the future.”
Visualize them coming true.
Describe how you might get there.
And what that would feel like.
Remember: “This exercise—even when engaged in as briefly as two minutes—makes people happier and even healthier.”
Here’s to Optimizing your Optimism.
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