Turn that Frown Upside Down: Why it pays to be positive

“I don’t wanna be here… I hate this… Ugh, I’m so unlucky…” — we’ve all had moments where these thoughts play over and over in our heads. Whether it’s a friend whining about how cold it is outside or someone in the hallway ranting about how they just bombed their CAT test they didn’t study for, it’s hard to go minutes without hearing negativity thrown around at school.  

We shouldn’t feel the need to complain every time something not-so-great happens — but we can’t help it.  

Pessimism is a natural part of life. It’s our biological inclination not only to register negative stimuli more readily, but to also dwell on it, according to verywellmind.com.

Even though it’s human nature to think negatively more often than positively, that doesn’t mean it’s good for us. Optimism has been proven to be healthier than pessimism.

According to psychologist Suzanne Segerstrom, “Setbacks are inherent to almost every worthwhile human activity, [but] a number of studies show that optimists are in general both psychologically and physiologically healthier.”

I’d consider myself an optimist, but the never-ending negativity surrounding me in high school always seems to dampen my mood. I get it — sometimes it’s not easy to steer your thoughts in a cheerful direction. However, it’s important to try and be more positive because a negative mindset can be enough to change the outcome of a situation for the worst.

If you convince yourself that you won’t be able to make the winning basket, you become more likely to miss. Anticipating failure actually increases the chances of us failing. That mindset leads to us not putting our best foot forward, according to verywellmind.com. Not only that, but constant negativity also leaves us less enthusiastic and motivated and more likely to be indecisive and procrastinate. 

In other words, pouting about your Stats final scheduled for tomorrow and putting it off will likely leave you performing worse on it. Try opening up a book and studying instead — there won’t be any complaining when you end up being well prepared and acing it.

There are also physical side effects of looking at a glass as half-empty, according to cardiologist Alan Rozanski. In a meta-analysis of 15 studies, Rozanski and his colleagues found that people who ranked low in optimism were much more likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular issue, along with a higher mortality rate. 

“In every case, there was a strong relationship between optimism and a lower risk of disease,” Rozanski said in an article for the Chicago Tribune.

Having an optimistic outlook has many other benefits including increased stress relief, improved immunity to illnesses and overall better resilience. I find that this holds true in my life, especially as it relates to my self-image. I’m less insecure about each pimple on my face and my annoyingly frizzy hair when I focus on the things I love about myself like my hardworking attitude and trusting nature.

And optimism isn’t about blocking out the difficult parts of life — it’s about realizing that not every part of your life is perfect, and choosing to be positive anyways. You won’t always wake up to a perfect 72-degree-day. The A you’re hoping for on your Biology test may end up being a B. So instead of kicking yourself over things you can’t control, try to focus on the hilarious meme from your friend instead of fixating on the annoying text that your boss sent you.   

Along with practicing gratitude, there are other ways for us to combat the inevitable annoying texts of the world. 

Instead of whining about your car feeling more like an igloo than anything else, you can appreciate that you’re lucky enough to have a car to drive you around while some have to trek through mounds of snow. Rather than freaking out about the Spanish quiz you completely forgot about and staring at Skyward watching your grade sink, take a deep breath and let it motivate you to try extra hard to get those points back.  

To become more positive, focus on doing things that you love (and if it sounds obvious, that’s because it is). Which can be as simple as doing anything that puts a big smile on your face. For me, it’s exploring new places, singing along to anything from Taylor Swift’s latest album, catching a movie at Standees with friends and playing tennis with my teammates.

There’s nothing wrong with word-vomiting to a friend about how you tripped up the stairs and spilled your coffee in the stairwell. But next time you do, try following it up with a detailed description of the cute beagle you saw on your way in.