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UnitOneText:YouAreWhatYouThinkAndifyouchangeyourmind-frompessimismtooptimism-youcanchangeyourlifeClaipeSafran[1]Doyouseetheglassashalffullratherthanhalfempty?Doyoukeepyoureyeuponthedoughnut,notuponthehole?Suddenlytheseclichésarescientificquestions,asresearchersscrutinizethepowerofpositivethinking.[2]Afast-growingbodyofresearch—104studiessofar,involvingsome15,000people—isprovingthatoptimismcanhelpyoutobehappier,healthierandmoresuccessful.Pessimismleads,bycontrast,tohopelessness,sicknessandfailure,andislinkedtodepression,lonelinessandpainfulshyness.Ifwecouldteachpeopletothinkmorepositively,sayspsychologistCraigA.AndersonofRiceUniversity①inHouston②，itwouldbelikeinoculatingthemagainstthesementalills.[3]Yourabilitiescount,explainspsychologistMichaelF.ScheierofCarnegieMellonUniversity③inPittsburgh④,butthebeliefthatyoucansucceedaffectswhetherornotyouwill.Inpart,that'sbecauseoptimistsandpessimistsdealwiththesamechallengesanddisappointmentsinverydifferentways.[4]Take,forexample,yourjob.Inamajorstudy,psychologistMartinE.P.SeligmanoftheUniversityofPennsylvania⑤andcolleaguePeterSchulmansurveyedsalesrepresentativesattheMetropolitanLifeInsuranceCo.Theyfoundthatthepositive-thinkersamonglongtimerepresentativessold37-percentmoreinsurancethandidthenegative-thinkers.Ofnewlyhiredrepresentatives,optimistssold20-percentmore.[5]Impressed,thecompanyhired100peoplewhohadfailedthestandardindustrytest⑥buthadscoredhighonoptimism.Thesepeople,whomightneverhavebeenhired,sold10percentmoreinsurancethandidtheaveragerepresentative.[6]Howdidtheydoit?Thesecrettoanoptimist'ssuccess,accordingtoSeligman,isinhisexplanatorystyle.Whenthingsgowrongthepessimisttendstoblamehimself.I'mnogoodatthis,hesays,Ialwaysfail.Theoptimistlooksforloopholes.Heblamestheweather,thephoneconnection,eventheotherperson.Thatcustomerwasinabadmood,hethinks.Whenthingsgoright,theoptimisttakescreditwhilethepessimistseessuccessasafluke.[7]CraigAndersonhadagroupofstudentsphonestrangersandaskthemtodonatebloodtotheRedCross⑦.Whentheyfailedonthefirstcallortwo,pessimistssaid,Ican'tdothis.Optimiststoldthemselves,Ineedtotryadifferentapproach.[8]Negativeorpositive,itwasaself-fulfillingprophecy.Ifpeoplefeelhopeless,saysAnderson,theydon'tbothertoacquiretheskillstheyneedtosucceed.[9]Asenseofcontrol,accordingtoAnderson,isthelitmustest⑧forsuccess.Theoptimistfeelsincontrolofhisownlife.Ifthingsaregoingbadly,heactsquickly,lookingforsolutions,forminganewplanofaction,andreachingoutforadvice.Thepessimistfeelslikefate'splaythingandmovesslowly.Hedoesn'tseekadvice,sinceheassumesnothingcanbedone.[10]Optimistsmaythinktheyarebetterthanthefactswouldjustify—andsometimesthat'swhatkeepsthemalive.Dr.SandraLevyofthePittsburghCancerInstitutestudiedwomenwithadvancedbreastcancer.Forthewomenwhoweregenerallyoptimistic,therewasalongerdisease-freeinterval,thebestpredictorofsurvival.Inapilotstudyofwomenintheearlystagesofbreastcancer,Dr.Levyfoundthediseaserecurredsooneramongthepessimists.[11]Optimismwon'tcuretheincurable,butitmaypreventillness.Inalongtermstudy,researchersexaminedthehealthhistoriesofagroupofHarvardgraduates,allofwhomwereinthetophalfoftheirclassandinfinephysicalcondition.Yetsomewerepositivethinkers,andsomenegative.Twentyyearslater,thereweremoremiddle-agediseases—hypertension,diabetes,heartailments—amongthepessimiststhantheoptimists.[12]Manystudiessuggestthatthepessimist'sfeelingofhelplessnessunderminesthebody'snaturaldefenses,theimmunesystem.Dr.ChristopherPetersonoftheUniversityofMichigan⑨hasfoundthatthepessimistdoesn'ttakegoodcareofhimself.Feelingpassiveandunabletododgelife'sblows,heexpectsillhealthandothermisfortunes,nomatterwhathedoes.Hemunchesonjunkfood⑩，avoidsexercise,ignoresthedoctor,hasanotherdrink.[13]Mostpeopleareamixofoptimismandpessimism,butareinclinedinonedirectionortheother.Itisapatternofthinkinglearned“atyourmother‘sknee”，saysSeligman.Itgrowsoutofthousandsofcautionsorencouragements,negativestatementsorpositiveones.Toomany“don’ts”andwarningsofdangercanmakeachildfeelincompetent,fearful—andpessimistic.[14]Astheygrow,childrenexperiencesmalltriumphs,suchaslearningtotieshoelaces.Parentscanhelpturnthesesuccessesintoasenseofcontrol,andthatbreedsoptimism.[15]Pessimismisahardhabittobreak—butitcanbedone.Inaseriesoflandmarkstudies,Dr.CarolDweck11oftheUniversityofIllinois12hasbeenworkingwithchildrenintheearlygradesofschool.Asshehelpsflounderingstudentstochangetheexplanationsfortheirfailures—fromImustbedumbtoIdidn'tstudyhardenough“—theiracademicperformanceimproves.[16]Pittsburgh'sDr.Levywonderedifturningpatientsintooptimistswouldlengthentheirlives.Inapilotstudy,twogroupsofcolon-cancerpatientsweregiventhesamemedicaltreatment,butsomewerealsogivenpsychologicalhelptoencourageoptimism.Resultsshowedthatthisworked.Nowamajorstudyisplannedtodeterminewhetherthispsychologicalchangecanalterthecourseofthedisease.[17]So,ifyou'reapessimist,there'sreasonforoptimism.Youcanchange.Here'show,saysSteveHollon,apsychologistatVanderbiltUniversity13:[18]1.Paycarefulattentiontoyourthoughtswhenbadthingshappen.Writedownthefirstthing