I looked out the window this morning and saw snow. A few days ago, it was 70 degrees outside. We were wearing t-shirts and sandals. When I saw the snow, my mind started whirling with negative thoughts about how much I dislike winter, cold weather, driving in the snow, bundling up to go outside, wet snow puddles on my floor, etc.
Fast forward a few hours to the awakening of my 2-year old. The minute
he looked out the window and saw snow, he saw beauty. He started running around the house saying, "It's winter outside!" He was THRILLED. He ran and got his new winter boots, put them on over his pajamas, and started pestering us to go play in the "winter." His enthusiasm was contagious. I couldn't help feeling a little giddy to go run in the snow. His optimistic outlook changed everything.
Since we're talking about change this month, I thought a change in attitude for many of us might just be what the doctor ordered.
I've read lots of anti-Obama blogs this morning filled with doom and gloom at the prospects of where this great nation is headed with our new
Presidente. I have to admit that Obama wasn't my personal choice. But he is our newly elected President. And maybe it
won't be such a bad thing. I'm all about optimism, and this is one area where I believe pessimism won't do us any good. We can all continue praying for our country with a hope for a bright future. Let's keep moving forward, people!
As for attitude, according to
this study, your outlook on life may help you live longer, and also improves the
quality of life.
In the Mayo Clinic study, Toshihiko Maruta, M.D. reports,
"The wellness of being is not just physical, but attitudinal...How you perceive what goes on around you and how you interpret it may have an impact on your longevity, and it could affect the quality of your later years." I'm not encouraging the "
blissful ignorance" often associated with optimism if it leads to poor choices. However, an
optimistic outlook is said to have a positive effect on the following:
Superior Health
Greater Achievement
Persistence
Emotional Health
Increased Longevity
LESS STRESS (who doesn't need some of that medicine!)
Here are a few
quotes to get you going...
The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser - in case you thought optimism was dead. ~Robert Brault
An optimist is the human personification of spring. ~Susan J. Bissonette
An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. ~Irv Kupcinet
Optimists are nostalgic about the future. ~Chicago Tribune
If an optimist had his left arm chewed off by an alligator, he might say, in a pleasant and hopeful voice, "Well, this isn't too bad. I don't have my left arm anymore, but at least nobody will ever ask me whether I am right-handed or left-handed," but most of us would say something more along the lines of "Aaaaah! My arm! My arm!" ~Lemony Snicket
The place where optimism most flourishes is the lunatic asylum. ~Havelock Ellis, The Dance of Life, 1923
Now go run in the snow, look to the future with hope, set some goals for this month, and keep plugging away as the positive influences you already are to so many!
My uber-excited-about-everything-
life toddler helped me change my attitude this morning. How do you change your thinking when you're not feeling so positive?
