We all live in a world full of sadness and disappointment. We see people dying, poverty, unemployment, etc. However, there are many positive things in the world: children being born every day, people having new life opportunities, happy marriages, etc. see the positive sides of life, without focusing our attention on the negative sides. According to Winston Churchill, a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees an opportunity in every difficulty. In my opinion, this is absolutely true, because a positive or negative attitude towards life can strongly influence our chances of success, our feelings and even our health. Positive thinking can be the best treatment for those who don't know what to do in a problematic life situation. An optimistic attitude can help a person live longer, recover more quickly from life-threatening illnesses like cancer and coronary heart disease, and avoid alcoholism and psychological problems (like depression). Having an optimistic attitude is a great way to feel better, even in bad times. The interesting question is whether this can help the optimistic person experience happy moments longer than their pessimistic colleague. Scientists (Maruta, Colligan, Malinchoc and Offord (2000)) have studied this question. They did an experiment: using data collected in the mid-1960s, they divided patients into three main groups. The first group was optimistic, the second mixed and the last pessimistic. The results were unambiguous: for every ten-point increase in a person's score on their optimism scale, the risk of premature death decreased by nineteen percent. This is a very good result, because, as we can see, the level of optimism makes people's lives...... middle of paper ...... Psychology: The benefits of living positively. Psychology Center. Retrieved from http://psychcentral.comMaruta, T., Colligan, R.C., Malinchoc, M., & Offord, KP (2000). Optimists versus pessimists: Survival rates of medical patients over a 30-year period. Proceedings of the Mayo Clinic, 75, 140-143. Ohannessian, C.M., Hesselbrock, V.M., Tennen, H., & Affleck, G. (1993). Hassles, highs, and generalized outcome expectancies as moderators on the relationship between family history of alcoholism and drinking behaviors. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 55, 754-763. Schou, I., Ekeberg, O. and Ruland, CM (2005). The mediating role of appraisal and coping in the relationship between optimism-pessimism and quality of life. Psycho-oncology, 14, 718-727. Wong, S. (2009). Always look on the bright side of life... Notes and theories. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com