Optimism – the medicine of the 21st century

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Our attitude influences our lives more than one might think. Optimists are healthier, happier, and more likely to live into old age.

The cold gusts of wind, the torrents of rain and the sky covered with leaden clouds compose a gloomy picture of autumn. However, if we look at things from another perspective, we suddenly discover that this season offers us a multitude of possibilities: we go to the theater and concerts more often, we meet more often with family and friends, we rediscover the joy of home, with a cup of wine drunk from the stove.

Like almost all events in our lives, autumn also has two faces. It’s up to us which one we choose to see. As Winston Churchill once said: “The optimist sees in every obstacle an opportunity, while the pessimist sees in every opportunity an obstacle.” In these few words, he managed to perfectly define the essence of optimism (in Latin, “optimum” = “the best”): the unwavering confidence in a happy outcome.

However, there are also disadvantages. In our society, people with problems enjoy more attention than those who always have a smile on their faces. Employees who are perpetually in a good mood risk arousing the suspicion that they are doing too well and do not give their best at work. And those who remain confident, even in complicated situations, are immediately labeled as naïve and inexperienced. Unfairly – because optimism is, in many circumstances, a valuable personal resource capable of ensuring our success. This is proven by studies carried out with the participation of elderly people and breast cancer patients, students, nuns and prisoners of war. They all came to the same conclusion: people who are more self-confident and more confident in life do not let themselves be brought down by failures and find their balance more easily, after suffering a stroke of fate. They are more resistant to stress, compared to pessimists, have a stronger immune system, better results in blood glucose and cholesterol tests and recover faster after a difficult surgery, such as bypass.
Moreover, a study by researchers at Harvard University shows that optimists face a lower risk of death as a result of a heart attack or stroke. And their colleagues at the University of Zurich have noticed that the way we assess our own health has a direct impact on life expectancy. So, those who answer “very well” to the question “How do you feel in general?” will live longer than those who answer only “well” and considerably longer than those who have negative feelings about their health.
Specialists believe that genetic baggage is responsible only to a small extent for our ability to be optimistic. Rather, we are influenced by what has been passed down to us in the early years of childhood. He who has been taught in his parental home to work hard, with the conviction that his efforts will be rewarded, is rather inclined to believe that he can forge his own fate. Also, the social environment also leaves its mark on our personality. Americans, for example, are a particularly brave and optimistic people. Confidence in the future has been innovated since childhood, by virtue of the principle that anyone can start washing dishes in a restaurant, so that one day they become a millionaire.

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The good news: if in adulthood we see the glass half full or, on the contrary, half empty, this is by no means a fatality with which we must resign ourselves. Positive thinking can be learned, just like a foreign language – by practicing continuously. “It is indeed a difficult process, but people have the opportunity to enter new information by the end of their lives, fixing it in the brain database,” say the specialists. There are various strategies, with which new connections can be created, which will strengthen the better the more frequently they will be used.

Analyze

Someone who is in an unfavorable situation and thinks that he can’t change anything anyway has already lost. To get out of the impasse, he must analyze the situation, look with maximum determination for a positive aspect in it and weigh its significance. Thanks to this deliberately constructed perception, circumstances will later be evaluated much more positively.

Do imagination exercises

Every evening, write down in a notebook the beautiful things experienced during the day. These can be simple details, such as a look that sent you a message of sympathy, a ray of sunshine in the window or a happy situation. Our brains are gullible. It is difficult for him to discern between the images of the outer and inner reality. This is why, when we watch a sad movie, we grieve ourselves, even cry. And vice versa: the brain secretes happiness hormones, when we remember in as many detail as possible certain things that have pleased us, because it takes this representation seriously, as if it were reality itself.

Relativize

The weight loss diet failed, you didn’t manage to take the exam, the first meeting with someone you met recently was a failure? This does not mean in any way that you are forever condemned to be fat, late in grades or without a life partner. Such thoughts are burdensome and rob you of your energy. Even if, at the moment, the balance does not live up to your expectations, there is a possibility that you will be more successful the moment you make a new attempt – to discover a more suitable diet, to prepare better for the exam, or to fall in love with someone else. For everything in the world there is an alternative.

Take an interest in others

Imagine that you have met an acquaintance. After the usual exchange of lines: “How are you?” – “Okay”, the dialogue ends. Only if the interlocutor is in trouble, we continue to ask him questions. However, specialists teach us that we should ask him how his affairs are going, even when they are going. Which makes the other one feel good. This will affect our own mood, so that in the end, we will both be in a good mood. This fact is also confirmed by an American study, carried out over a period of two decades. The probability that we will be happy increases by 34% if the neighbor in our immediate vicinity is also happy, whether we are talking about the office or the block where we live.
Of course, there are also situations or moments that can have nothing in common with good mood. Fear, anger, sadness and hopelessness are also part of life – including the life of an optimist. “When we have the feeling that a huge negative wave has hit us, which sweeps everything in its path, the first thing we should worry about is limiting the damage,” psychologists advise us. Here we can benefit from the support of friends, family, but also a therapist. The important thing is just not to let ourselves be paralyzed by negative feelings: “Especially when we have to reflect on so many things, a fundamentally positive attitude helps us not to block ourselves.” Which does not mean that we are asked to look at the world through pink lenses, but only to perceive it in essence positively, accepting it with all its shortcomings.

Small test: Badly disposed or depressed?

Each of us has days when he doesn’t feel comfortable. But a depression lasts beyond two weeks and includes symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, memory disorders, loss of appetite and lack of courage. It is generally believed that depressants are primarily sad. But typical is rather apathy, which goes so far that they become unable to get out of bed.

Are pessimists more prone to depression?
Basically, any man can have depressive states. But really, those who see and perceive everything negatively have a more pronounced tendency to develop a psychic lability, eventually leading to depression.

What effects does the bad autumn weather have on our mood?
In part of the population, less sunlight negatively influences mood. It is what in specialized language is called seasonal depression. It can be combated with phototherapy or with a vacation in warmer and sunnier countries. And those who cannot afford an exotic vacation should at least overcome their inertia and go outside, in the fresh air. A quarter-hour walk during your lunch break would be enough for the body to provide the necessary light. This can be done by any employee, wherever they work.

What else helps against the bad mood?
Studies attest to the fact that movement has an antidepressant effect. It’s enough 15 minutes of physical activity, for example, a walk or bike ride. Preparations with St. John’s wort extract, in an appropriate concentration, give good results in mild and medium forms of depression, as well as in seasonal depression. In stress-induced ailments, combined formulas containing valerian are especially useful. For mental balance and harmony, the kite’s jaw and tail (cala) are also recommended.

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How to think positively?

Repeated statements

By affirmation we mean a short and simple statement, a positively formulated sentence, which contains the goal that is intended to be achieved. In the field of psychology, affirmations are an already established form of therapy. They help to gradually fade some beliefs (of a negative nature), until they stop acting. Frequent repetition eventually changes the person’s attitude in a positive sense. That is why the mode of action of an effective affirmation is inseparably linked to the acceptance and confirmation of one’s own life – in other words, the desire to rebalance your state. physical, economic or spiritual. “Magic formulas” can make a significant contribution in this direction.

Mobilize your subconscious

Since the human subconscious rejects negations, the basic principle of a statement is this: elaborate a positive formulation, placed in the present. For example, don’t say, “I don’t want to smoke anymore.” It is preferable to say: “I breathe easier”. Words like “no,” “none/none,” or any other negation only create an autosuggestion to direct your attention. to that unwanted state.
Repeat the affirmation over and over again, up to 30 times a day, for several days, so that your subconscious mind can focus on this life situation that you have formulated. at the present time. Essential to success is also the affectionate attention you pay to the content of the string of words. Load the thought of “I breathe easier” with joy. Thus, it can be achieved with a short utterance of it, an effect as strong as with a long repetition.
An essential detail must also be remembered: the statement always refers to one’s own self. That is why it is never repeated out loud in the presence of someone else, but in silence, at most in a whisper – that is, in the moments when you want to improve a personal life situation.

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Making a statement

When you want to develop your own statement, it is necessary to take into account a few aspects.

Always describe the present you want
The subconscious tends to execute exactly what you think, it believes you and takes you seriously. Consequently, if you use a wording like “I want to make a decision”, not much will happen. You won’t get anything even with the sentence “I’m going to make a decision.” Even if, from an energetic point of view, it already has more strength, it still remains an image projected into the future. In contrast, the wording ‘I am making a decision now’ comes directly into the present. To begin with, test the sentences by pronouncing them out loud. At the same time, try to perceive how the position of your body changes. while you are speaking them.

Use only positive
formulationsWhen choosing a personal statement, compose only short sentences that already anticipate your goal. In fact, it would be good to form this habit in terms of your behavior as well. from everyday life. Because the more frequently you use positive formulations, the more positive situations will be offered to you. (I do, right, can, I think, I win…)

Choose sentences you can believe
inAn old Chinese proverb goes like this: “Even the longest journey begins with the first step.” Therefore, set your goals in such a way that they are credible to you. Try to feel if the sentence you have chosen really resonates in your soul. and creates a close state of joy for you. If not, rephrase it. If, for the moment, you can’t think of a better wording, try again later. Sometimes the best ideas come to us just when we’re not looking for them on purpose, for example while we bathe, mow the lawn or do the dishes.

Form short
sentencesStatements are not novels, so they should not contain more than ten words. The shorter and more precise, the better. Here are some characteristic examples below.
* Goal – you want to quit smoking while maintaining your body weight.
Right – “I’m free.” This sentence states that you are free on all levels and do not replace one addiction with another (such as sweets). Because this is how many former smokers make mistakes, who thus gain weight quickly.
False – “I don’t want to smoke anymore”. The consequence would be: I continue to smoke, because the subconscious has suppressed the negation from the sentence.
* Purpose – you want to feel more confident in the community where you work.
The Medicine of the Third Millennium: OPTIMISM

Correct – “I feel safe and protected in any situation”. Or: “I feel like a member with equal rights. Every person in the community is a part of me.”
False – “I’ll feel good in the community.” The sentence refers to the future, so it will have no effect.

Dosage of
affirmations To break away from old patterns of thinking and behavior, you need, first of all, patience. After all, they did not arise overnight, but appeared and consolidated over the years. Therefore, repeat the chosen affirmation up to 30 times, for three weeks, only in thought or in a whisper. Then change the wording.

Source: formula-as.ro