Are you an optimistic or pessimistic person? Does it really matter?

Are you optimistic?

Did you know that optimism is around 25% heritable (this just means it can be passed from one generation to the next) but that leaves 75% still to go so don’t worry it can also be learned too, especially if you grew up in a household of pessimists [1]. 

Why does this matter though? It might not matter to you, but if you would like to live a long life and even be classed as having “exceptional longevity”, then being optimistic appears to be a key part in this puzzle. Some say it can even add an additional 7.5 years to your life [2].

“Exceptional longevity” is when a person lives to over 85 years of age [1]. Both my Grandma and Nan lived into their 90s so it feels like “exceptional longevity” could be in the family, especially females!  If you have read my earlier blogs on successful ageing, that differs to longevity because it is all about the here and now and living well as you age. Longevity is about living a long life. This is why it might not matter to you, do you want to live well, live long, or both?

Having good health and living with fewer chronic health conditions is associated with optimism [3]. For example, your risk of cardiovascular disease and lung function declines with optimism and the likelihood of depression, anxiety or anger also reduces. Optimism might also be protective against stroke [4].

Rainbow during a storm

So, what is optimism? A group from the United States described it as “a psychological attribute characterised as the general expectation that good things will happen, or the belief that the future will be favourable because one can control important outcomes.” [1, p18357]. They looked at data from over 70,000 people across a 30-year period and found those with higher optimism lived 11-15% longer than those with lower optimism and were more likely to live past 85 years of age.

Another study found similar results; that optimistic people live longer than less optimistic people [3]. It has also been identified that optimistic people are more proactive in prioritising their health and they are more likely to engage in healthy behaviours, such as being physically active, eating healthier food and not smoking [5]. However, they are unsure whether those that adopt healthy behaviours are more optimistic or being more optimistic is why they adopt healthy behaviours.

Optimists have a tendency to do certain things that help them to be more optimistic, such as utilising positive coping strategies like using more problem-focused strategies (finding benefits in adversity), seeking information and then reframing them positively or through psychosocial aspects, such as feeling like they have good social support or control of their life [6]. Leisure activities also help to build optimism including volunteering – giving to get back, visiting friends and family, exercising, being physically active or going out to plays, movies or other types of entertainment [7].

Volunteering

How do you know if you’re an optimist?

Some of the research shows that optimists appear to work harder at relationships, they have greater perceived social support and there is a belief that a stressful time will become better in the future. Optimists can generate more vivid mental images of positive events and at times might have a strong sense of having already experienced the event due to this [8]. Optimists may also be able to mentally disengage from or inhibit physical pain and are more responsive to pain relief – even placebos. Optimists may also have higher life satisfaction often due to perceived strong family support [8].

Do you relate to any of these things?

Interestingly, there appears to be a couple of instances where more optimism isn’t as beneficial. Gambling is one, because optimists tend to think the outcome will change and turn from continued poor to positive outcomes [9]. The other is being an entrepreneur. It must be noted though that entrepreneurs are more optimistic than the general population anyway, so within this population those who were less optimistic had better outcomes, but it does need further research to better understand this effect [10].

It must also be noted that being optimistic differs from what some call “toxic positivity”. Optimists acknowledge when things are hard or life is challenging but believe it will improve. Those living with “toxic positivity” stay positive ‘no matter what’ the circumstances are in their life, and they may also dismiss or minimise difficult emotions in both themselves and others. For example, when you are going through a tough time and someone says “just be grateful it’s not worse” that is “toxic positivity”.

• If you feel like you might be a pessimist and would like to change, see if you can catch yourself having pessimistic thoughts like “this will never work” to “is there any other way to see this” or replace your thoughts with a more balanced approach such as “this is hard, but there are some things I can try”

• Some people keep gratitude journals, you can write down 1-3 good things that happen each day and why they happened, it allows you to think of some things that are going right, rather than everything going wrong in your life

• Once a week or month visualise a realistic, good future for yourself, it might also help to write it down and end with a small step you can take to make it happen in the future (vision to action provides hope)

• You might enjoy mindfulness practice, if you do, build up to make it a regular practice. It can be as simple as mindful breathing where you sit or stand comfortably and spend one minute paying full attention to each breath in and out

• Spend more time with people who are generally hopeful and are solution-focused about any issues that arise in their life

Live the good life!

References

[1] Lee, L. O., James, P., Zevon, E. S., Kim, E. S., Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Spiro, A., III, Grodstein, F., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2019). Optimism is associated with exceptional longevity in 2 epidemiologic cohorts of men and women. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(37), 18357–18362. 10.1073/pnas.1900712116

[2] Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., Kunkel, S. R., & Kasl, S. V. (2002). Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(2), 261–270. 10.1037/0022-3514.83.2.261

[3] Koga, H. K., Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Lee, L. O., James, P., Kroenke, C., Garcia, L., Shadyab, A. H., Salmoirago-Blotcher, E., Manson, J. E., Grodstein, F., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2022). Optimism, lifestyle, and longevity in a racially diverse cohort of women. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 70(10), 2793–2804. 10.1111/jgs.17897

[4] Kim ES, et al. Dispositional optimism protects older adults from stroke: The health and retirement study. Stroke. 2011; 42:2855–2859.10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.613448

[5] Boehm JK, Chen Y, Koga H, Mathur MB, Vie LL, Kubzansky LD. Is optimism associated with healthier cardiovascular-related behavior?: meta-analyses of 3 health behaviors. Circ Res. 2018; 122(8):1119-1134. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.310828

[6] Ferguson, S. J., & Goodwin, A. D. (2010). Optimism and well-being in older adults: The mediating role of social support and perceived control. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 71(1), 43–68. 10.2190/AG.71.1.c

[7] Heo, J., Chun, S., Kim, B., Ryu, J., & Lee, Y. (2017). Leisure activities, optimism, and personal growth among the young-old, old-old, and oldest-old, Educational Gerontology, 43:6, 289-299, 10.1080/03601277.2017.1289457

[8] Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2014). Dispositional optimism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18(6), 293–299. 10.1016/j.tics.2014.02.003

[9] Gibson B, Sanbonmatsu DM. Optimism, pessimism, and gambling: The downside of optimism. Pers and Soc Psychol Bull. 2004; 30:149–160.10.1177/0146167203259929

[10] Hmieleski KM, Baron RA. Entrepreneurs’ optimism and new venture performance: A social cognitive perspective. Acad Management J. 2009; 52:473–488. 10.5465/AMJ.2009.41330755