4 Reasons Why You Should Be an Optimist

If you’re placed second in a contest, will you jump for joy and push for better results the next time or will you be discouraged and find an excuse not to join again?

In life, you are always filled with choices. You may opt to have a pessimist’s view and live a self-defeated life or you may decide to take the optimist’s route and take a challenging and fulfilling life.

So why nurture an optimist’s point of view? And why now?

Well, optimism has been linked to positive mood and good morale; to academic, athletic, military, occupational and political success; to popularity; to good health and even to long life and freedom from trauma.

On the other hand, the rates of depression and pessimism have never been higher. It affects middle-aged adults the same way it hits younger people. The mean age of onset has gone from 30 to 15. It is no longer a middle-aged disorder but also a teenage disorder.

If you are dealing with depression, please tell someone and go see a doctor — there is no shame in suffering from depression and the NHS website here can give you more information. However, if you feel like your world view is just a negative as opposed to depressed, here is how optimists are in action and the research that backs up why it really pays to be an optimist: