Prince Bhojwani never thought of himself as a negative person, until three hospital visits in a month forced him to reconsider.
Before May 2018, I was a healthy but chronically worried startup founder who regularly took 20-mile (32-kilometer) bike rides. When suddenly he could barely walk, his vision was blurry, and his blood pressure was skyrocketing, emergency room doctors suspected he had suffered a stroke, but could not determine the cause of his illness.
However, a friend—”one of the most optimistic people I know,” he said—told him that he often didn’t have faith that things would work out and suggested that it had consumed him.
“I started seeing the world very differently literally the next day,” said Bhojwani, who lives in New York City. He began to meditate and take a moment each morning to be grateful that he was alive. He also found purpose by co-founding a nonprofit, Asana Voices, a South Asian advocacy organization.
Since then he has not suffered a similar health crisis, despite working longer hours. She attributes it to his new positive attitude.
“A life-changing event forced me to be optimistic,” he said. “I can’t even imagine living life like I did then.”
Optimism in itself is not a remedy for any illness, but numerous studies conducted over decades have demonstrated the relationship between a positive attitude and good health.
A longer and healthier life?
Experts noted that a standard for measuring a person’s optimism has long been a 10-question test published in 1994. (One question is: On a scale of 1 to 5, people are asked to what extent they are according to the phrase “In times of uncertainty, I usually hope for the best”)
Optimism is generally defined as the “expectation that good things will happen, or believing that the future will be favorable because we can control important outcomes,” said Hayami Koga, a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.
She was the lead author of a 2022 study that found that optimism was associated with longer life expectancy and a greater likelihood of living beyond age 90. In another study, published in May in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, she and other researchers stated that optimists tended to maintain better physical functioning as they aged. They analyzed 5,930 postmenopausal women over a six-year period.
“We know that more optimistic people are more likely to lead healthier lives, with healthier habits, eating healthier and exercising more.”Koga said.
Can you learn to be optimistic?
Some people are born more optimistic, but it’s definitely something that can be learned, said Sue Varma, associate professor of clinical psychiatry at New York University and author of “Practical Optimism: The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional Well-Being.” ” (Practical Optimism: The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional Wellbeing).
According to Varma, optimism training can improve life satisfaction and reduce anxiety.
“Even if you weren’t born with this natural disposition to anticipate favorable outcomes and see the glass half full, there are skills that can be learned,” says Varma.
Start by realizing how you deal with uncertainty. Do you tend to worry? Do you assume the worst?
Try to reframe your thinking objectively. “Is there a silver lining? Is it a problem to be solved or a truth to be accepted?” Varma said, noting that his book is based on the work of Martin Seligman, one of the fathers of psychology. positive.
Try to imagine the best possible outcome and a step-by-step path to get there. Varma asks his clients to describe in detail the path to solving the problem, and encourages them to bask in their success.
“Then you are already facing your day and your life as if things had turned out well,” he said. “And you tend to be more proactive, more positive, more resilient, more buoyant in the face of obstacles.”
Finding a purpose can also help. Volunteering would be beneficial, but for those who can’t find the time, Varma suggests trying to remake your role at work to better fit your interests. It can be something as simple as a very sociable person organizing outings with their co-workers.
Trying to master a skill, whether it’s a sport, a musical instrument, a language, or a hobby like knitting or playing chess, can help you not ruminate on negative possibilities.
Even with these and other interventions, it is not easy to change mindsets, Varma said. But practice helps.
“It’s a set of tools, a mindset,” he said. “I have to practice it every day in my mind.”
