VIDEO: Positive People Live Longer
There's a reason health questionnaires include 'outlook on life' — positivity tends to add years to your life. In fact, having a positive attitude can increase your life span more than not smoking or regular exercise. By comparison, if you're pessimistic about getting older you'll only bring those wrinkles on faster!(Watch: Ethel Goldschmidt reinvents life at the age of 88.)
Don't Worry Be Happy
These were some of the findings of a study done at Yale University but they're not really surprising. There's a reason why negative thoughts cause people to age quicker and it has to do with stress. Regular stress causes inflammation inside your body which is a known component of most diseases.
Ethel Goldschmidt knows the power of positive thinking. After her husband Burt died she started her own brewing company, a lifelong dream of her husband's. Now at 88, she's living proof that you're never too old to fulfill your life's ambitions.
5 Ways to Stay Positive
- Exercise – Maintaining an active lifestyle helps the endorphins flow which reduces stress and keeps you happy.
- Keep Perspective – Realizing it's only a matter of time before the downturn will swing up is a healthy way to focus on what's important.
- Control your Response – Too often we react emotionally turning a bad situation into something worse. Give yourself a couple of seconds to calm down and think about your response.
- Accentuate the Positive – Whether you keep a journal or list, taking stock of the positive things in your life and on a daily basis is a good way to focus on the positive rather than the negative.
- Help other People – Volunteering or doing something simple like holding the door open, or helping carry groceries to someone's car is an instant win. Not only will you be making someone else happy, doing good for others makes you feel good about yourself.
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What are some of the ways you stay positive? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
