Positive thinking yields positive results....

I have always said that energy flows where attention goes and thoughts are also energy and if we think positively, we will attract more positivity and the reverse is also true regarding negative thoughts creating more negativity in our lives. Dr Thomas Sult did a great article regarding positive thinking and I wish to share it with you......

"Research Shows that Positive Thinking Yields Positive Outcomes

How do you approach your day? Are you a glass half-full or glass half-empty kind of person? The way you think can affect not just your mood but also your health.

Negative thinking (i.e., I'm never going to get this report finished! or Why do I always blow my diet?) evokes emotions like fear and anger. When that happens, the body releases the stress hormone, cortisol. Over a period of time, high or sustained levels of cortisol can cause blood sugar imbalances, high blood pressure and impaired cognitive functions.

But look on the bright side: studies show that positive thinking can provide significant health benefits including decreased feelings of loneliness, increased pain tolerance, and general better long-term health.

Thinking positively isn't about ignoring reality. It's about living proactively. One study showed that when people who thought negatively had a problem, they felt helpless. People who thought positively were more likely to believe in their ability to problem solve and take action to eliminate the problem.

So, want to put on a pair of rose-colored glasses, but don't know how?

Start small. Begin with the way you talk to yourself. Instead of "This is so hard, I can't do it!" think: "This is hard, but I can do it if I take my time and go step by step." Or even, "It's okay for it to be hard, but I'll keep trying."

In a recent Huffington Post article, author Brandi Megan Granett outlined words she plans to stop using in her quest to think more positively. They include: should, have to, can't and never.

"Should" implies guilt as in "I should diet," while "have to" implies a total lack of control in the situation, as in, "I have to go to work." Although you may not love dieting or working—or the alternatives—it is still a choice that you've made. Embrace that this is your choice instead of lamenting the lack of more preferable ones.

"Can't" and "Never" indicate complete unwillingness to try. "I can't lose weight," sends a much more self-defeating message than "I've struggled to lose weight before." Or change "I could never eat gluten-free" to "I wonder what foods would satisfy me in a gluten-free diet?" Both revised statements leave the door open for change.

If you want to think more positively, start with even the small, daily thoughts. Consistently reframing them can have a big impact, helping you live with optimism and hope."

Sources:
Peterson, Christopher; Seligman, Martin E.; Vaillant, George E.; Pessimistic explanatory style is a risk factor for physical illness: A thirty-five-year longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 55(1), Jul, 1988. pp. 23-27.
Peterson, C. (2000). The future of optimism. American Psychologist, 55, 44–55.
Solberg Nes, L. S., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2006). Dispositional optimism and coping: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 235–251.



Research Article

Dispositional optimism and loneliness in older men†

International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Volume 27,  Issue 2, pages 151–159, February 2012

Background
Dispositional optimism, defined as a generalized tendency to positive outcome expectancies, is associated with well-being and successful aging. However, it remains unclear whether optimism is also correlated to less feelings of loneliness over time. We aimed to determine whether dispositional optimism is prospectively associated with less feelings of loneliness, independently of potential confounders inherent to the aging process.

Methods
We observed 416 older men aged between 70 and 89 years (mean 74.9 years, standard deviation [SD] 4.7 years) within the population-based Zutphen Elderly Study during 10 years of follow-up. Baseline dispositional optimism was assessed using a four-item questionnaire. The presence of feelings of loneliness, the main outcome of our study, was assessed using the 11-item loneliness scale of De Jong Gierveld in the years 1990, 1993, 1995, and 2000. The association between baseline dispositional optimism and loneliness over time was tested by using multilevel regression analysis and by adjusting for potential confounders (i.e. age, living arrangement, social contacts, widowhood, memberships, self-rated health, and depressive symptoms).

Results
Feelings of loneliness significantly increased during 10 years of follow-up but showed temporal stability (reliability coefficient 0.78). Low baseline dispositional optimism was strongly associated with loneliness over time, also in the adjusted analysis. A 1 SD increase in baseline dispositional optimism was associated with a 0.14 SD (95% confidence interval 0.04–0.23) lower level of loneliness (F1,320 = 7.8; p = 0.006).

Conclusions
Dispositional optimism is correlated to lower feelings of loneliness over time in older men, independently of depression or changes in social network. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.