Benefits of Positive Thinking

Would you like to be a better problem-solver, more effective at work, healthier, and even to live longer?

There is an increasing body of evidence that suggests that positive emotions can lead to all these and many more benefits.  This probably sounds ridiculously extreme to you.  It did to me to start with.  But read on..

story 1: In 1930 a group of young novice nuns wrote short essays describing their backgrounds. They wrote about their childhopods, their schools, their families, their influences and of course their religious experiences.

In the 1990s the essays came to light when some psychologists were researching into ageing. The psychologists scored each essay for positivity, giving marks for each time the writer wrote of love, of joy, of happiness, of hope, of interest.  They then found out what had happened to each nun.
 
The findings are extraordinary! The nuns with the highest scores for positivity lived on average 10 years longer than those with the lowest scores.  It seems that positive emotions actually have a stronger effect than giving up smoking (7 years) when it comes to longevity.

story 2: researchers have also found that when people feel good they think more clearly and solve problems more effectively.  In one experiment researchers took two small groups of doctors.  They made one group feel positive by giving them small gifts!   They then asked both groups to discuss aloud a difficult case.  They found that the doctors who felt good discussed more openly, understood new information faster, were less likely to be stuck in one groove of thought and to jump to conclusions than the other group.

Food for thought?

Would you like to know how to increase your own positive feelings, your happiness?  I'll pass on some of the best techniques in my next post

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