Talking point: Are you an optimist?

Apparently people have a significantly lower death rate over 30 years if they maintained an optimistic attitude. This is the shocking information The New York Times Learning Network published late in May under the title How full is your glass? to introduce the topic of the importance of a positive outlook in life for our health. I think the topic is interesting enough for discussion in our conversation group.

In your talking session, you can use the questions below, already taken from The New York Times Learning Network, and you can gain more insight into the topic by reading The New York Times article A Richer Life by Seeing the Glass Half Full, by Jane E Brody.

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?
What do you think is healthy about being an optimist or a pessimist?
What might be some benefits to viewing life from the opposite perspective?
Do you ever try to be more optimistic? 
What do you do to get a more positive feeling?
What advice would you give to someone trying to be more positive?
Do you think a person’s proclivity for optimism or pessimism is because of genetics, life experience or a combination of both?
Can optimism be a bad thing? If so, in what situations?
Do you agree that at times it’s better to “fake it until you make it” regarding optimism?
Have you ever used such a strategy? Did it work?

Yvetta Fedorova