Is the glass half full or half empty?

Do you have friends that are pessimists?

I have one and he is especially a pessimist when it comes to ageing. In fact, most of his conversation was about his ills, our mutual friends’ ills and how little time he has left. 

When I gave him the scenario regarding how science is exponentially marching forward to reverse age-related maladies, how technologies will extend life expectancies beyond what he considers his actuarially mandated year of reckoning… and how we will reverse ageing itself, it didn’t quite register.

Oh, he’s a very bright guy, and he intellectually grasped my argument. He just didn’t seem to think it would happen in time for him.

That’s very sad because his mere disbelief could ironically shorten his life and fulfil his prophecy.

I understand there’s a genetic underpinning that determines our levels of optimism or pessimism. I suspect you have heard the term: “He/she is a born optimist.”

Well, we know that’s true for most optimists. But not all.

We can’t change the genetic code we were born with, not today anyway. But we can affect our gene expressions. With a little work, we can tilt ourselves toward optimistic attitudes. In other words, you can become more optimistic if you keep telling yourself you are an optimist… and then act accordingly.

When you catch yourself complaining – STOP.  Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Remember, you can only keep one thought in your mind at once.

What you say and think affect every one of your trillions of cells. Really.

So if longevity is your goal, think happy thoughts. It’s proven that optimists outlive pessimists… by a wide margin. They get sick less often too.

And it makes life more fun.

If there were a happiness pill, it would be a longevity pill.

Back to my friend. I love him and hope he turns his attitude around. He’s a great guy who deserves to see his great-grandchildren get born and grow up. But I discovered long ago that people are either receptive to the radical life extension message or they’re not.