The Power of Positive Thinking

Some time ago, I did an article about the “super powers” that seniors and retirees have.  The most important super power was the Power of Positive Thinking.  Then and now, I think that one of the most important abilities a person can develop is that power.

The gist of the power of positive thinking is the ability to recognize that life is rarely easy, and we have the power to prevent adversity from bringing us down.  You must believe that everything that happens, bad or good, has a positive side.  Dealing with illness, bad luck, accidents, etc., can make us better, stronger people.  Also, the loss of a friend or spouse may lead to making a new friend or developing a new relationship.  You have the power to decide that things that happen to you can be for the best.  Being able to fight off the negative emotions of adversity is the greatest power of all.

Recently I learned another significant benefit from the Power of Positive Thinking: that pessimism increases the risk of death from heart disease.  In a study by Finnish researchers, people who scored highest on the pessimism scale were more than twice as likely to die of heart disease than those who ranked lower.  The researchers suggested that pessimism may increase inflammation and other factors that negatively affect heart health.  They further suggested that pessimistic people should make more of an effort to take care of their physical health.

Like many problems, rather that dealing with the problem, maybe it is better to prevent it in the first place.  In other words, developing an attitude that you will think positively about life issues will improve your health and reduce the incidence of heart disease. That seems like a good idea, doesn’t it?