You think being optimistic is just a nice way to be. Something you got from an encouraging parent or a childhood that treated you well. Or maybe you don’t care where it comes from, but you know it’s important.

Either way, here's something that raises the stakes.

Researchers tracked almost 70,000 women for a decade and nearly 1,400 men for three decades. At the start, they measured how optimistic each person was. Then they watched what happened.

The most optimistic people lived up to 15% longer than the least optimistic. Their odds of making it past 85 were 50% higher for women and 70% higher for men, compared to the most pessimistic people in the same study.

That's not a small edge. That is a jump even I didn’t expect.

While it’s great news that optimism can help you live longer. It’s even better news knowing that optimism isn't a fixed personality trait; it’s learnable. It's a muscle, and it can be trained.

But how?

Researchers compiled 29 separate studies and found the same result repeatedly. When people spent a few minutes writing about one part of their lives going exactly the way they wanted, their optimism measurably increased. Not someday in the future but right away.

So today, I want you to pick one opportunity in front of you. Your doctor's appointment, an upcoming date, a presentation at work, or just a tennis match tomorrow. Now vividly picture it going exactly the way you want it to. Not in vague terms; get specific. What does it look like? What does it feel like? See yourself standing in that positive outcome before it ever happens.

P.S. The Optimistic Outlook is a Podcast! Leaving a rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts would mean a lot.