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People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study
11–20 of 193 posts
Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’d love to see a different question answered: is there an inverse correlation to be drawn between optimism and stress levels. From my experience significant stress can be just as debilitating as physical ailments and I find that optimists seem to handle stressful situations with more apparent ease than others.
That’s where my train of thought was going. Less optimistic, more stress, lower life expectancy.
I would guess causality runs the other way: people with high stress in life have lower life expectancy and also tend to be less optimistic because it’s easier to be optimistic if things are going well for you
Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study
#13When I read the tile and skimmed through the article, I thought: define pessimism. I mean, I consider myself pessimistic, but what do THEY who designed the study consider pessimistic. I tend to find the fault in things, see how they are wrong, or in general anticipate some negativity that most people will overlook. It's literally what makes me good at my job. So I clicked through to the study. Which mentioned it used…
I feel like usually the pessimistic complaining posts like this in hackernews are much more negative. It feels like there's a lot of hesitancy in this one and it's much more accepting/positive because you're afraid of being pessimistic because of the article :P (Mostly just being cheeky. It's not fair to judge people on the internet when you don't know them)
I'm not afraid of being pessimistic.
I read the article title and wanted to see how accurate it was.
If it was accurate, it would cause me, like a rational creature, to question my tendencies. I have list of pros and cons for all my proclivities and try to use/taper my tendencies accordingly. It's not like I'd abandon my tendency toward pessimism all together, but adding something to the list of cons would put it's utility into greater question. I'm always questioning my beliefs and the utility of my tendencies, it's how I constantly improve and progress in life.
But I also question other peoples assertions. It's the natural thing to do for me. I think to question how they define pessimism is also quite logical when trying to objectively measure something.
I'm curious though, can you please tell me how I was complaining? I'm genuinely interesting in knowing why you perceive that.
Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study
#14Maybe optimism is profitable on an individual basis. But at the collective level, I am not sure it is such a good idea. Anyway, not being optimistic does not mean you must be pessimistic : We just have to be realistic. That mean, accepting the world for what it is, and not what we want it to be.
Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study
#15For such studies, a randomized control trial should be done. For half the group, present the research on optimism and encourage them to be optimistic. For the other half, do nothing. I predict that telling people to be optimistic will not be effective.
I’d love to see a different question answered: is there an inverse correlation to be drawn between optimism and stress levels. From my experience significant stress can be just as debilitating as physical ailments and I find that optimists seem to handle stressful situations with more apparent ease than others.
How does one measure stress and its effects? It often sounds like a vague catch all, that can't really be measured scientifically.
Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study
#16About three years ago I read someone on here recommend the book, “Learned Optimism”. They said it was life changing.
I read it, did the work, and it is life changing. People with a pessimistic outlook are much less happy than people with an optimistic outlook. The book teaches you how each type thinks (for example, optimists think everything good that happens to them is personal and permanent and every bad thing that happens is impersonal and temporary. Pessimists are the opposite). The book then teaches you essentially a cognitive behavioral therapy technique to retrain your brain to think more like an optimist. It’s work but so worth it especially if you ever experience anxiety.
Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study
#17Optimism is more compelling as an ethic than a philosophy.
Even if pessimism more accurately represents reality, adopting optimism leads to statistically improved outcomes.
So lie to yourself! Or do whatever it takes to fool yourself into adopting an optimistic mindset. Pessimism is for losers.
[inb4 zealous optimists claiming that optimism is actually more realistic.]
Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study
#18But are people who live to 85 or more likely to have been optimistic?
Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s where my train of thought was going. Less optimistic, more stress, lower life expectancy.
I would guess causality runs the other way: people with high stress in life have lower life expectancy and also tend to be less optimistic because it’s easier to be optimistic if things are going well for you
I'd say there's even a third option, the causality runs back AND forth (both good thoughts can lead to good outcomes as well as bad outcomes can lead to bad thoughts and vice a versa)
Even in this third option there exist an infinite number of sub options on a gradient (where each direction carries more or less weight).
Of course, any meaningful conversation can only happen after definitions (like what is pessimistic) are agreed upon. I for one don't agree with the definition of pessimism as defined by the study.
Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study
#20Optimism is more compelling as an ethic than a philosophy. Even if pessimism more accurately represents reality, adopting optimism leads to statistically improved outcomes. So lie to yourself! Or do whatever it takes to fool yourself into adopting an optimistic mindset. Pessimism is for losers. [inb4 zealous optimists claiming that optimism is actually more realistic.]
If you lie to yourself you'll know you're lying... Also that's a great way to keep yourself in a bad job or relationship when you could leave and get a better one.