You Ae What You think.pptVIP

You Are What You think Do you see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty? Do you keep your eye upon the doughnut, not upon the hole? Suddenly these cliches are scientific questions, as researchers scrutinize the power of positive thinking. A fast-growing body of research-104 studies so far, involving some 15000people –is proving that optimism can help you to be happier, healthier and more successful. Pessimism leads, by contrast to hopelessness, sickness and failure, and is linked to depression, loneliness and painful shyness. if we could teach people to think positively, says psychologist Craig A. Anderson of Rice university in Houston, it would be like inoculating them against these mental ills. “you abilities count ,”explains psychologist Michael F.Scheier of Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, but the belief that you can succeed affects the same challenges and disappointments in very different ways. Take, for example, your job. In a major study psychologist Martin E.P.Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania and his colleague Peter Schulman surveyed sales representatives at the Metropolitan Life Insurances sold 37 percent more insurance than did the negative-thinkers. Of newly hired representatives, optimists sold 20percent more. Impressed, the company hired 100 people who had failed the standard industry test but had scored high on optimism these people who might never have been hired, sold 10 percent more insurance than did the average representative. How did they do it? the secret to an optimist’s success, according to Seligman, is in his explanatory style. when things go wrong the pessimist tends to blame himself.” I’m no good at this, he says “i always fail.” the optimist looks for other explanations. He blames the weather the phone connection, even the other person. that customer was in a bad mood, he thinks. When things go right, the optimist takes credit while the pessimist thinks success is due to luck. Negative or positive, it was a