Having a positive attitude - Is it just wishful thinking? - Ecademy

The idea that positive thinking is a good thing can sometimes get bad press. Now I'd be the first to say that simply having a positive attitude will not solve all your problems. It's not a silver bullet; not a panacea. We won't solve all the world's ills just through positive thinking. However, is it beneficial? Should we try to have a positive attitude?
In the model of Emotional Intelligence I work with, Positive Mood is a key component of Optimism. In a business environment, optimistic leaders have a talent for maintaining and promoting a positive mood, even in the light of set-backs and failures. This enables them to create and sustain a highly productive working environment and a climate for success.

But what is the evidence for a positive mood being a good thing; what exactly are the benefits?

A few years back there was a psychological study performed, which has become known as the Nun Study. It was discovered that a group of 180 Catholic nuns had all written brief autobiographical sketches when they entered the convent, which on average was at around age 22. These sketches were scored for emotional content in terms of how positive they were and related to survival during the age range 75 to 95. It was found that the nuns in the lower half of the distribution of positive statements were likely to die on average 9 years sooner than those in the top category of positive statements. Yes, it seems being positive means you live longer. This finding is all the more remarkable because from their early twenties, the lives of the nuns were as close to identical as human lives can be, so their longevity did not appear to be related to their lifestyle or circumstances in the intervening period, but to their positive emotional outlook six decades earlier.

Another study looked at the pictures of 181 women in a US college yearbook. The expressions of the women were categorised into 18 smile types including the Duchenne smile, named after the French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne (1806-75), who identified two distinct types of smiles. A Pan-Am smile or fake smile, involves only the zygomatic major muscle (which raises the corners of the mouth). A Duchenne smile or real smile, is similar, but also involves the involuntary contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle (which raises the cheeks and forms crow's feet around the eyes). The results of the study found that the type of smile was a predictor of the women's success later in life. Those women exhibiting a Duchenne smile were more likely to have positive outcomes in terms of marriage and well-being, even up to 30 years later.

So it appears having a positive outlook on life can have a significant impact on both the quality and length of your life. However, if you're still not convinced, just remember the words of Zig Ziglar: "Positive thinking won't let you do anything, but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking."

Mike Jones specialises in developing Emotional Intelligence. If you would like help to improve the mood of your employees call him now on +44 (0)1908 509088 or email mike@potentialmatters.co.uk.

References:
Danner, D., Snowdon, D. and Friesen, W. (2001) Positive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the Nun Study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(5):814-813.
Harker, L., & Keltner, D. (2001). Expressions of positive emotion in women's college yearbook pictures and their relationship to personality and life outcomes across adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 80, 112-124.

Source: http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?id=183331

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