Many studies have shown that optimism is always favorable compared to pessimists. These studies state that optimists go through life with a much greater gait, living longer and happier along with being healthier than pessimists. In short, it seems like studies have proven that being optimistic is highly beneficial than being a pessimist. However, one thing that optimists don’t have over pessimists is correctly assuming events or situation to happen. In this regard, as pessimists tend to see the worst outcomes and be prepared for unfavorable situations better than optimists, they are often more correct in guessing what would happen in a given in a situation.

Even with this in mind, the benefits of being optimistic still greatly outweigh the benefits of being pessimistic. To understand the reasons why, let’s look at the words of experts and how they perceive the pros of being an optimist.

Optimists Tend to Live Longer Than Pessimists

There is no single method or solid way that one can increase their lifespan. While regularly exercising and eating greens help with maintaining your health, nothing can guarantee the increase to your longevity. One act has been scientifically proven to increase one’s life expectancy, however. This act is being generally optimistic.

Many studies on the matter has been conducted with one study from Mayo Clinic which tested the theory by analyzing 900 patients’ optimism levels and noting it down. In thirty years from the time the research was conducted, 200 of the patients had died, with optimists living 19% longer than those who had a pessimistic outlook. One might be tempted to dismiss this study saying that optimism wasn’t a major factor, rather other factors was most likely at play. But another study was done in a similar vein with similar results.

In the 1930s and 1940s, a team of psychologists analyzed autobiographical essays written by nuns prior to finalizing their vows and entering a convent. Their findings revealed that a staggering 90 percent of the most optimistic nuns in their essays were still alive at the age

of eighty-four, while only 34 percent of the least optimistic survived. It is important to note that the nuns in the study shared the same lifestyle and diet but had differing outlooks on life.

Additionally, 54 percent of the most positive lived to the age of ninety-four. Even after taking into account other factors, the researchers concluded that optimism was the lone factor to have a significant correlation with lifespan

This shows that an optimistic approach to life can greatly influence our health, both physically and mentally. It shows that optimism can improve how we approach the actions we take on life and thus increasing our longevity.

Optimists Achieve More

It is a fact that optimists are more productive, and this cannot just be attributed to their longer lifespan. They are usually more persistent and resilient, which leads to success in almost any endeavor. A renowned psychologist, Martin Seligman, conducted an experiment that involved recruiting a group of optimists and pessimists as insurance sales agents to compare their performance. After two years, the optimists outsold the pessimists by 57%. Optimism is also beneficial in sports, where research shows that runners who have an optimistic outlook perform better than pessimists when given feedback that their time trial was slower than expected.

Pessimists Are More Inclined to Be Right

Life doesn’t always go in favor of optimists, in fact, quite the opposite. Despite their positive outlook, optimists tend to make incorrect assumptions more often than not. In a study comparing insurance sales agents’ performance, pessimists made more accurate predictions on the conversion rates of sales calls. However, pessimists tend to give up earlier than optimists, who pushed through and obtained extra sales. While some pessimists label themselves as “realists”, realists are still more likely to experience disappointment than optimists, as they tend to focus on the negatives of a situation.

In contrast, optimists try to find the positives and opportunities even in difficult situations. For example, if an optimist and a realist are denied a bank loan, the optimist will think of ways to improve their chances on the second attempt while the realist congratulates themselves on not getting their hopes up. Therefore, the optimist is more likely to eventually obtain the loan.