I am a firm believer in optisim and this article in today's paper only confirms by conviction.

Optimism is key to longevity

Researchers at University of Pittsburgh found that optimists live longer, healthier lives than pessimists which only give pessimists one more reason to grumble. In a study that followed more than 100,000 women ages 50 and over since 1994. Women who were optimistic — those who expect good rather than bad things to happen — were 14 percent less likely to die from any cause than pessimists and 30 percent less likely to die from heart disease.

Optimism

A pessimist should always be happy
If wrong, then they think that things are alright
If right, they got what they expected
And with that, they can sleep well at night

My wife is in no way an optimist
She says she’s a realist at heart
And optimists are just Polly-Annas
With no value they can impart

But I look at the world through rose glasses
And I’m happy most of the time
And when bad things around me just passes
I am glad they were not on my mind

So maybe I am Polly Anna
And maybe rose glasses distort
But maybe I’ll live a bit longer
At least that’s what studies report

Mdailey
03/13/09

Robert A. Heinlein: “Don’t ever become a pessimist … a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events.”