Are you a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of person? Researchers believe that a positive attitude has a variety of physical and emotional benefits. Here are 15 miracles, or what seem like miracles, that happen when you have a positive attitude.
When you have a positive attitude, it doesn’t necessarily mean you never feel off or have negative emotions, but according to studies, positivity makes you better at bouncing back from the negative emotions more quickly to find the right balance.
What miracles happen when you have a better attitude?
Researchers have discovered that there are many benefits to having a positive attitude. Here are some things they’ve learned so far about what happens when you are positive.
1 – Open to new ideas
When you’re a positive person, you’re willing to expand your thinking and think about new ideas. You have a natural curiosity combined with a desire to learn new ways to do things. This attitude can help you see opportunities and step out to try new things. Many well-known creative thinkers had a positive mindset, causing them to be curious to find answers to problems.
Famous people who had a positive attitude include:
- Walt Disney
- Marie Curie
- Leonardo DiVinci
- Albert Einstein
- Steve Jobs
2 – Emotional wellness
Having a positive attitude affects your brain, releasing what researchers call a “reward” sensation deep inside your brain. Positive emotions impact your sense of wellbeing by releasing hormones that make you feel happier. Negative emotions do the opposite, causing you to feel emotionally upset.
3 – Resilience
People with a positive upbeat attitude, researchers say, can bounce back from negative situations faster. They are resilient and don’t crumble at the first sign of hardship. You see this positive attitude in many entrepreneurs and inventors who in spite of many obstacles pursued their dreams. They weren’t deterred by criticism or obstacles. When you have a positive attitude, you have a greater chance of achieving your goals in life.
4 – Gratefulness
Another benefit of positivity for positive people is the ability to hold on to positive emotions longer, causing you to feel happier and grateful. Feeling grateful leads to better emotional health. People who are grateful are:
- Less prone to envy
- Have more self-esteem
- More satisfied with their life
- Less prone to depression
- Have happier relationships
- Have more social support
Positivity helps you feel more grateful and in turn, being grateful makes you feel more positive.
5 – Sense of purpose in life
A positive attitude provides you with more meaning and purpose in your life. It helps you focus on what’s important to you. One study found that having a purpose in life can actually reduce your mortality risk. Researchers found that individuals with purpose lived up to 14 years longer and had a greater sense of well-being. When you have a positive attitude, it leads you to a purpose that gives you a sense of satisfaction in the things you do. Your sense of purpose is usually shaped by what’s important to you or what you believe in and value in life.
6 – Better health
One miracle of being positive is that you’re apt to have better health. The health benefits of a positive attitude aren’t limited. Some of the most prominent health benefits include:
- Lower blood pressure
- Less risk of heart disease
- Healthier weight
- More stable blood sugar levels
- Longer life
Researchers believe that having a positive attitude may help you make better health choices which results in good health. They’re still studying how positivity affects your health.
7 – Less stress
When you’re positive you can savor your good feelings longer, which in turn releases stress hormones that help you feel happier and less anxious. When you have negative emotions, it activates a part of your brain that causes fear and anxiety. How fast you recover from fear and anxiety affects your emotional well being. A positive frame of mind reduces your stress, which in turn allows you to take more risks in life.
8 – Hope
If you struggle with negativity, you’re more likely to brood about everything that you feel is wrong with your life and the world around you. You may feel hopeless and worried about the future. Being positive affects your ability to look on the bright side of life. If you feel hopeful and positive, you’re more motivated to get involved. You won’t worry about the “what ifs” in life.
9 – An active mind
When you have a positive outlook on life, you are more open to new information. You’ll enjoy learning and trying new things without worry about failing. Positivity gives you the ability to attempt hard things, and you challenge yourself intellectually. You are curious about life and strive to learn. In one study, students who had a positive attitude experienced more positive emotions when they were given a challenge than students who had a negative mindset.
10 – Healthy relationships
Positive emotions help you build healthier relationships with other people. Even in moments when people disagree with you, positive people have a built-in physiological toughness that helps them respond to these negative moments. They aren’t threatened when others disagree with them. Positive people use humor, relaxation, and creativity along with their positive attitudes to help placate the disagreement. This makes you a better partner, friend, and family member to be around.
How do you develop a more positive attitude so you can see these miracles?
A positive attitude needs to be cultivated. When you grow vegetables, you plant the seeds in good soil, add water, and set the seeds in the sunshine. They begin to grow, getting bigger and bigger every day. Positivity is like that. It takes constant effort to choose to be positive, and over time, you find yourself responding to situations in a more positive way.
Here are ways to grow your positive attitude and experience those miracles shared above.
Don’t believe everything you tell yourself:
It’s easy to start your day telling yourself that you’re going to fail. Don’t listen. Choose to see your new day as an opportunity for learning and growing. You may not be good at everything, but that’s okay, at least you can try to do your best and that’s enough.
Help other people:
Helping others is an excellent way to grow in positivity in your life. As you invest in others, you gain a sense of fulfillment and feel happier. You broaden your horizons and learn about other people. Plus, helping others gets your mind off yourself and your negative thoughts.
Enjoy the little things in life:
Find ways to enjoy the small things in life like a sunset, the laughter of kids playing, a cool breeze, even the frost covering your backyard in the morning. Practice mindfulness by using your senses of smell, touch, sight, and hearing to grow your satisfaction with the world around you.
Take responsibility for your actions, feelings, and thoughts:
No one makes you feel a certain way, it’s your choice to have negative feelings. If there are areas of your life where you need to grow and change, put in the effort to find ways to do that. Taking this step forward can help you feel a more positive attitude.
Don’t be afraid of change:
Life is constantly changing whether it’s getting some new neighbors next door, helping our daughter move to college, or something as simple as needing to find a new dentist. Some changes are no big deal, but others may make you feel anxious. Embrace changes in your life. Getting out of your comfort zone can help you grow more positive about life.
Don’t compare yourself:
Today, it’s hard not to compare yourself with other people. Social media sites, television, and movies depict perfect-looking people in gorgeous houses with happy kids and a loving partner. You may look around your house, at your kids and partner, only to feel like life has left you behind. Comparison is dangerous. You may feel content and happy with your life until you compare yourself with someone else. Suddenly you feel totally dissatisfied with everything around you. Don’t fall into the comparison trap. It’s a slippery slope towards negativity and unhappiness.
Find other positive people:
Look for other positive people to do life together. It’s helpful to have others who are striving to be more positive. They can help you on your journey to cultivating positivity.
Find humor in difficult situations:
Start looking for the humor in your life situations that might normally bring you down. Laughter releases endorphins in your brain, causing you to feel happier. Read a funny book, or watch a funny television show, listen to funny podcasts that make you laugh out loud. Looking at life with humor boosts your mood, making you feel happier.
Don’t be too hard on yourself:
Everybody makes mistakes and has hard days. Don’t beat yourself up when you mess up. Step back and evaluate the situation in a positive light. If there’s something you need to do to fix the mess, do it, but otherwise, let it go.
Final thoughts on Reaping the Miracles of having a Positive Attitude
You may have always been a positive person, so reading about these benefits encourages you. But if you lean towards seeing the glass half-empty, it may be time to develop a more positive attitude and reap some miracle-like benefits of having this view on life.
