The Benefits of Optimism, Explained I Paid Content by Volvo

optimism has real benefits so much so that some scientists think it should be treated as a public health concern if you're more of a pessimist though there are still ways you can switch over it starts with the way you explain things [Music] Volvo believes that to design cars for the future they must first understand the people who will drive them so they asked us to help them with an experiment the choice one person is confronted with two doors behind one is the exit and what's behind the other is completely unknown so does an optimistic outlook

better prepare you for the future and in fact help you embrace it in many ways the science of optimism backs that up research shows that optimists not only find jobs faster they're promoted sooner and 40% more likely to have their loans approved and it doesn't just help your bottom line it's better for your life in a recent study of 70,000 women researchers found that those who were more optimistic had a lower risk of dying from heart disease and much lower risk of dying from infection and with all that good health and approved loans it's perhaps

no surprise that optimists are less likely to suffer from anxiety stress and depression there is a genetic component to it the oxytocin receptors gene the hormone that makes you want to cuddle has been found to be correlated to optimism and self-esteem but there's also a theory that you can choose how optimistic you are and given what you know so far sounds like an easy choice right it starts with testing explanatory style how you rationalize and then explain the good and bad events that happen in your life is one way that psychologists measure how close you're

walking down the street and sleep with a banana peel an optimist would attribute his slip to the banana peel itself rather than his clumsiness where a pessimist would do the op what's more an optimist would consider this bad luck is temporary whereas the pessimist believes their clumsiness to be permanent finally an optimist thinks the slip-and-fall is specific to only that time in place and doesn't think it would happen again whereas the pessimist is certain he'll continue falling victim to the banana peel recognizing and then changing your own explanatory style is according to some experts a

key way you can actually boost optimism when you find yourself facing some adverse event you can actually ID and then dispute your inner voice luckily just because you've been a pessimist in the past doesn't mean you can't be an optimist in the future take five minutes of your day and write down all the best-case scenarios of your personal and professional life and then imagine them coming true in two weeks you should start feeling better about embracing your future so while it's important to note that being a pessimist is okay too there are real benefits to

optimism