Cultivate Optimism (Hope)
“New evidence that optimists live longer”—The Harvard Gazette—August 30, 2019
After decades of research, a new study links optimism and prolonged life.
Researchers from Harvard, Boston University School of Medicine, and the National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, have found that individuals with greater optimism are more likely to live longer and to achieve “exceptional longevity,” that is, living to age 85 or older.
Optimism refers to a general expectation that good things will happen, or believing that the future will be favorable because we can control important outcomes. Whereas research has identified many risk factors that increase the likelihood of diseases and premature death, much less has been known about positive psychosocial factors that can promote healthy aging.
The study was based on 69,744 women and 1,429 men. Both groups completed survey measures to assess their level of optimism, as well as their overall health and health habits such as diet, smoking and alcohol use. Women were followed for 10 years, while the men were followed for 30 years.
When individuals were compared based on their initial levels of optimism, the researchers found that the most optimistic men and women demonstrated, on average, an 11 to 15 percent longer lifespan, and had 50-70 percent greater odds of reaching 85 years old compared to the least optimistic groups. The results were maintained after accounting for age, demographic factors such as educational attainment, chronic diseases, depression and also health behaviors, such as alcohol use, exercise, diet and primary care visits.
I want now to learn how to cultivate optimism. Like so many other things, I’m sure there’s a biological predisposition to optimism or pessimism, but also a massive amount of opportunity to change negative habits and patterns. Scientists estimate that our genetic make-up accounts for about 25% of our well-being; the other 75% has to do with how we live our lives.
Uh oh. I’m in trouble. While I’ve always been generally optimistic that society will move in the right direction, these last five years have been a real challenge.
I do think that having a purpose in one’s life can be enormously helpful. Something that is engaging and generally brings smiles to oneself. I do have that with my dog, houseplants and garden, but not with anything larger, i.e., something community, environmentally or politically based.
I’m now wondering, what was the study’s definition of ‘optomistic’? Perhaps it simply means remembering to see our glasses as half full rather than half empty. If that’s the case, you and I might be better off on this score than we thought.
Looking at one of your live links I found this: “People who had the highest levels of optimism—the tendency to believe good events are likely and bad events are unlikely—…”. I’d still push back on what this means. If they mean the kind of optimism that comes with living in a fairytale, than count me out. Could they really mean that?