Optimism is in reference to a positive attitude that a person might have toward other people, to life, to their work and so on. The opposite to optimistic is to be pessimistic and I have known many people on both sides of that coin. Why, because good and positive things happen to every person I have ever known. One may be an optimist one day, and the following day, that same person may appear to be very negative. They may have lost their job or their spouse may have contacted a serious disease. We may think of people and label them as lucky or very fortunate people. We seldom think of people in a general sense as an optimist or a pessimist.
Whether I consider Sunday the end of the week or the beginning of a new one, there’s no better time to consider my outlook on life. My outlook is often determined by my spiritual demeanor at any given time. Sunday is when it is most likely that I am at a spiritual peak and also optimistic. Seeing, greeting and shaking hands with brothers and sisters with a common belief system is always fun and enjoyable.
Along with all of the other positive aspects of having a positive demeanor, it has been long known that a positive attitude does affect your health, your happiness and your good fortune. Positive people are more likely to be employed and more likely to be advanced in their employment.
Now there is evidence that optimism can also cause you to live longer, it all boils down to a key hormone that optimists seem to have less of, while pessimist have more of. Jeff Reagan reported that Interleukin 6 is a necessary part of our immune response, but if it runs rogue it can lead to a whole bunch of problems: chronic inflammation, heart, and autoimmune problems and even death. People who are optimistic have lower levels of Interleukin 6. If you’re optimistic, you’re 55% less likely to die from many of the common causes and 23% less likely to die from heart problems. Those figures boost our odds and should be enough to get us all to take a closer look at our attitudes. Science shows that pessimists are dealing with higher levels of stress hormones and lower immunity across the board. Pessimists are also prone to chronic illness in a way that optimists just aren’t. Like I said, optimists not only live healthier, they live longer. Cynical hostility is different from pessimism. It means you think your life is pretty rosy, but you’re cynical or hostile to others. So, people who are only concerned with their own well-being and lack compassion for other people, are risking their own health, as well. We have all heard that humor or laughter is good medicine, so is kindness, and so is compassion. I believe that people who believe in God, who are actively involved in church, who read and appreciate the scriptures, who enjoy other people generally are optimistic people. They are more likely to have a positive attitude, not only about other people but life in general. They are also forward looking people, to them this life is not the end. They believe that they will merely move to a new and different realm known by the Father of us all. Because they are also compassionate they want all other people to develop the same positive attributes, so that they, too, will live longer and know that when this life ends, there is more to come.