Positive Attitude

Dennis Brown once said, â€Å"The only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude. † As someone who always tried to keep a positive attitude in life, it is hard for me to imagine a world where people are not as optimistic about everyday deals. After hitting my Junior year in IB; however, the effects of the stress load really began to affect my attitude towards life. However, even though I barely just began this experience, I can truly say that a positive attitude can go a long way.As we explore this idea, we’ll first discover the benefits of being positive, next look at the negatives of losing hope, and finally learn how to keep life beautiful with a beautiful attitude. An anonymous person with a great outlook on life once said, â€Å"You've got to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you've got, and remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from mistakes, but never regret. † Though, this person did not disclose their name, their point is simple and clear. Staying positive is better than being negative.It is scientifically proven that staying positive can help decrease stress levels, increase lifespan, and can actually cause a greater resistance to the common cold and many other diseases. Ph. D. Doctor Martin Brofman discovered the benefits of keeping an upbeat attitude at all times. Brofman was diagnosed terminal cancer in 1975 and was told that he only had two months to live; two months before he would be forced to confront with death. Determined to make the most of his last few weeks, he refused to let anything get him down by keeping a positive attitude at all times.When the sky looked rainy during the time he was sick, the sun would come out at his command. He would imagine his cancer cells each dying off, one at a time; he would insist that everything would be okay. Two months later, he went back to visit the doctor that declared him terminally ill. The doctor, in return, had laughed in joy and stated that perhaps they had made a mistake. Brofman later quotes that â€Å"In order to release a symptom, one must release the way of being associated with it. Thus, the process of healing implies a process of transformation. Along with the positives of being positive, there are also several consequences for being negative. According to scientific research, negative attitude can decrease lifespan, cause stress levels to rise drastically which can cause many medical problems such as heart attack, hypertension, diabetes, and can create an unpleasant future. There are six main types of negativity: the miserable type, the silent killer, the drama queens, the woe is, the paranoid type, and finally the trigger type. These all have one thing in common: they tend to see many things in a negative light.According to Winston Churchill, â€Å"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. † In the end, the question asked is: would you rather see the difficulty or the opportunity? If the answer is to see opportunity, there are several ways to create a more positive attitude. Firstly, gratitude. If you are grateful towards things that you have, then you tend to have a positive outlook towards your life. It is said that Gratitude is the beginning of all virtues. The next step would be choosing happiness.Be happy; be positive; even when everything is looking rough, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Thirdly would be substituting problems for challenges. Don’t think of it as a problem, think of it as a challenge. Fourthly, view life as a journey; not a long, weary trek in the end where you go to sleep dejected and exhausted. Think of life as a ride, a ride with twists and turns but nevertheless an honest to goodness fun ride. Next, when you wake up in the morning, think about what a wonderful day it is. A positive start will nearly always end happily.Lastly, stop and s mell the roses and appreciate even the little things in life. As Maurice Setter once said, â€Å"Too many people miss the silver lining because they are too busy looking for the gold. † Often times, people take things for granted and do not look at the positive side of life. However, as shown previously, a positive attitude can create not only great health but also help the people around you. In this sense, a positive attitude is necessary for one to feel truly happy in their lives and necessary for one to truly live the fullest they can.