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UnitOneText:YouAreWhatYouThinkAndifyouchangeyourmind-frompessimismtooptimism-youcanchangeyourlifeClaipeSafran[1]Doyouseetheglassashalffullratherthanhalfempty?Doyoukeepyoureyeuponthedoughnut,notuponthehole?Suddenlytheseclichsarescientificquestions,asresearchersscrutinizethepowerofpositivethinking.[2]Afast-growingbodyofresearch104studiessofar,involvingsome15,000peopleisprovingthatoptimismcanhelpyoutobehappier,healthierandmoresuccessful.Pessimismleads,bycontrast,tohopelessness,sicknessandfailure,andislinkedtodepression,lonelinessandpainfulshyness.Ifwecouldteachpeopletothinkmorepositively,sayspsychologistCraigA.AndersonofRiceUniversityinHoustonitwouldbelikeinoculatingthemagainstthesementalills.[3]Yourabilitiescount,explainspsychologistMichaelF.ScheierofCarnegieMellonUniversityinPittsburgh,butthebeliefthatyoucansucceedaffectswhetherornotyouwill.Inpart,that'sbecauseoptimistsandpessimistsdealwiththesamechallengesanddisappointmentsinverydifferentways.[4]Take,forexample,yourjob.Inamajorstudy,psychologistMartinE.P.SeligmanoftheUniversityofPennsylvaniaandcolleaguePeterSchulmansurveyedsalesrepresentativesattheMetropolitanLifeInsuranceCo.Theyfoundthatthepositive-thinkersamonglongtimerepresentativessold37-percentmoreinsurancethandidthenegative-thinkers.Ofnewlyhiredrepresentatives,optimistssold20-percentmore.[5]Impressed,thecompanyhired100peoplewhohadfailedthestandardindustrytestbuthadscoredhighonoptimism.Thesepeople,whomightneverhavebeenhired,sold10percentmoreinsurancethandidtheaveragerepresentative.[6]Howdidtheydoit?Thesecrettoanoptimist'ssuccess,accordingtoSeligman,isinhisexplanatorystyle.Whenthingsgowrongthepessimisttendstoblamehimself.I'mnogoodatthis,hesays,Ialwaysfail.Theoptimistlooksforloopholes.Heblamestheweather,thephoneconnection,eventheotherperson.Thatcustomerwasinabadmood,hethinks.Whenthingsgoright,theoptimisttakescreditwhilethepessimistseessuccessasafluke.[7]CraigAndersonhadagroupofstudentsphonestrangersandaskthemtodonatebloodtotheRedCross.Whentheyfailedonthefirstcallortwo,pessimistssaid,Ican'tdothis.Optimiststoldthemselves,Ineedtotryadifferentapproach.[8]Negativeorpositive,itwasaself-fulfillingprophecy.Ifpeoplefeelhopeless,saysAnderson,theydon'tbothertoacquiretheskillstheyneedtosucceed.[9]Asenseofcontrol,accordingtoAnderson,isthelitmustestforsuccess.Theoptimistfeelsincontrolofhisownlife.Ifthingsaregoingbadly,heactsquickly,lookingforsolutions,forminganewplanofaction,andreachingoutforadvice.Thepessimistfeelslikefate'splaythingandmovesslowly.Hedoesn'tseekadvice,sinceheassumesnothingcanbedone.[10]Optimistsmaythinktheyarebetterthanthefactswouldjustifyandsometimesthat'swhatkeepsthemalive.Dr.SandraLevyofthePittsburghCancerInstitutestudiedwomenwithadvancedbreastcancer.Forthewomenwhoweregenerallyoptimistic,therewasalongerdisease-freeinterval,thebestpredictorofsurvival.Inapilotstudyofwomenintheearlystagesofbreastcancer,Dr.Levyfoundthediseaserecurredsooneramongthepessimists.[11]Optimismwon'tcuretheincurable,butitmaypreventillness.Inalongtermstudy,researchersexaminedthehealthhistoriesofagroupofHarvardgraduates,allofwhomwereinthetophalfoftheirclassandinfinephysicalcondition.Yetsomewerepositivethinkers,andsomenegative.Twentyyearslater,thereweremoremiddle-agediseaseshypertension,diabetes,heartailmentsamongthepessimiststhantheoptimists.[12]Manystudiessuggestthatthepessimist'sfeelingofhelplessnessunderminesthebody'snaturaldefenses,theimmunesystem.Dr.ChristopherPetersonoftheUniversityofMichiganhasfoundthatthepessimistdoesn'ttakegoodcareofhimself.Feelingpassiveandunabletododgelife'sblows,heexpectsillhealthandothermisfortunes,nomatterwhathedoes.Hemunchesonjunkfoodavoidsexercise,ignoresthedoctor,hasanotherdrink.[13]Mostpeopleareamixofoptimismandpessimism,butareinclinedinonedirectionortheother.Itisapatternofthinkinglearnedatyourmother,skneesaysSeligman.Itgrowsoutofthousandsofcautionsorencouragements,negativestatementsorpositiveones.Toomanydon?tsandwarningsofdangercanmakeachildfeelincompetent,fearfulandpessimistic.[14]Astheygrow,childrenexperiencesmalltriumphs,suchaslearningtotieshoelaces.Parentscanhelpturnthesesuccessesintoasenseofcontrol,andthatbreedsoptimism.[15]Pessimismisahardhabittobreakbutitcanbedone.Inaseriesoflandmarkstudies,Dr.CarolDweck11oftheUniversityofIllinois12hasbeenworkingwithchildrenintheearlygradesofschool.AsshehelpsflounderingstudentstochangetheexplanationsfortheirfailuresfromImustbedumbtoIdidn'tstudyhardenoughtheiracademicperformanceimproves.[16]Pittsburgh'sDr.Levywonderedifturningpatientsintooptimistswouldlengthentheirlives.Inapilotstudy,twogroupsofcolon-cancerpatientsweregiventhesamemedicaltreatment,butsomewerealsogivenpsychologicalhelptoencourageoptimism.Resultsshowedthatthisworked.Nowamajorstudyisplannedtodeterminewhetherthispsychologicalchangecanalterthecourseofthedisease.[17]So,ifyou'reapessimist,there'sreasonforoptimism.Youcanchange.Here'show,saysSteveHollon,apsychologistatVanderbiltUniversity13:[18]1.Paycarefulattentiontoyourthoughtswhenbadthingshappen.Writedownthefirstthingthatcomestomind,uneditedandu