A few weeks ago, my sister was experiencing some discomfort in her stomach and decided to have an endoscopy. If this sounds like Greek to you, it’s the procedure where they insert a tube (with a camera) down your throat to determine your stomach’s condition. She opted not to get knocked out as she did not want to be groggy the whole day. The anesthesiologist sprayed liquid anesthesia down her throat and when her throat was numb enough, the doctor started to insert the tube. To her dismay, it was truly painful and uncomfortable. She was gagging the whole time and almost passed out from the discomfort. She called all her favorite saints to help her get through the ordeal, to no avail. Her favorite saints might have deserted her, but they did send her an angel of mercy to help. A gentle nurse with the most soothing voice embraced her from behind and, while caressing her arms, whispered words of optimism to my sister: “Don’t worry, everything will be fine, you will be okay, everything will be over soon, take a deep breath…”
As she kept repeating this, my sister’s pain vanished along with her anxiety. Fear gave way to optimism and she felt at that moment that nothing bad was wrong with her stomach. True enough, her diagnosis showed that she was eating some food that was making her very acidic and all she needed was some digestive enzymes and antacids.
There’s no beating around the bush about the fact that our outlook on life shapes our well being. Instead of viewing the glass as half-empty, as the cliché goes, we should view it as half-full. With this attitude, we will surely reap tangible rewards. Studies have shown that optimistic people are more likely to lead longer, healthier lives than those who expect the worst.
I am talking of reasonable optimism. A financially strapped person who languishes in bed the whole day and expects a windfall from God is a dreamer. One has to do his part and only can then expect good things to come his/her way.
In making an effort to cultivate optimism, we are “optimized” or made capable of being and functioning at our best. It does not matter whether or not you came into this world with a sunny outlook. You can foster upbeat thinking by shining the light on the positive at every turn.
Optimism means having faith that things will turn out well in a given situation — and often they do. But even if they don’t, a positive disposition leads us to find the gifts that are hidden in any difficult challenge. Recently, a very bad experience happened to me, which I have written about and don’t care to repeat here as the less I think about it, the better for my road to mental health. While I was in my state of shock and depression, I was truly surprised to discover friends and family members with a very “positive” outlook on life. As I think about them now, these individuals who gave me very optimistic words of comfort are very successful in their own personal capacities. As I am analyzing each of them now, I realize that it has not been smooth sailing all along — they have had their ups and downs as well. But their positive outlook brought them up and they are all winners now.
I quote from the writer Larry Dossey his suggestions on how to practice optimism. He is sure you will enjoy happy consequences if you practice these steps:
1. Focus on the big picture. We are blessed. We live in a democracy with rights and privileges. Most of us enjoy the basics of life: food, clothing, shelter. Our daily luxuries — clean water, air-conditioning, safe food, good plumbing — have become so commonplace that we cease to notice them. In the name of optimism, we should wake up to our abundance. Doing so will help gratitude arise as a natural response to being alive to our place in human history.
2. Connect. Pessimists often make unpleasant company, and solitude leads to more pessimism. When you purposefully interact with others, you break the cycle of gloom and create an opening for optimism to take root. But choose your friends carefully — feelings are contagious. Want to be depressed? Hang out with depressives. Want to be happy? Make friends with happy people. Since both pessimism and optimism are catchy, you are more likely to feel optimistic if you surround yourself with optimists.
3. Read about optimists. What makes them tick? Where do you get hope in hard times? Read Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacham, an exploration of the friendship between two of the 20th century’s greatest optimists, Roosevelt and Churchill. Explore the lives of well-known optimists, and you will start to see how an invisible feeling can transform into visible deeds and accomplishments.
4. Be generous. Give to charity. Tip well. Offer to help friends and family members in need. Generosity opens the heart and anchors our identity in something other than the self. It’s an antidote to self-absorption and a door to optimism. When you bring more generosity into your life, you also invite compassion and love in. During this Christmas season, why not go to Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Tondo — as well as the Home for the Aged just across the orphanage — and bring cheer and generosity to the less fortunate? This is the perfect season to share our Lord’s abundant blessings.
5. Go on a media fast. For a week or so, take a break from the steady stream of bad news. You may find it invigorating to sidestep the depressing effects of daily tragedy and easier to feel optimistic about the state of the world. You can continue sending hopeful, healing thoughts to those people in need with an open-ended prayer such as “May the highest good prevail.”
6. Immerse yourself in nature. The incredible complexity of living systems and the upward, evolutionary trajectory of life can stir optimism in anyone. Spending time in nature can restore your soul, lift your spirits, make your heart sing and keep you going in times of trouble. Take a wilderness retreat the next time you want to feel buoyant, recharged, upbeat and ready to meet big challenges.
7. Cultivate spirituality. Countless studies show that people who follow a spiritual path generally live longer and enjoy a lower incidence of most major diseases than people who don’t. You might find spiritual connection in a particular religion, a form of meditation, or a physical discipline such as yoga or tai chi. Connecting with the divine might also come through something completely different, like tending an herb garden, singing in a choir or surfing Saturday mornings at dawn. Trust the saying “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”