The Benefits of Being Positive

I recently came across these wonderful reasons for being positive in Jon Gordon's Weeky Newsletter, and will share them for your reflection. If you ever needed some reason why - here they are!

1. Positive people live longer - In a study of nuns, those that regularly expressed positive emotions lived on average 10 years longer.
2. Positive work environments outperform negative world environments.
3. Positive, optimistic sales people sell more than pessimistic sales people.
4. Positive leaders are able to make better decisions under pressure.
5. Marriages are much more likely to succeed when the couple experiences a 5 to 1 ration of positive to negative interactions whereas when the ratio approaches 1 to 1, marriages are more likely to end in divorce.
6. Positive people who regularly express positive emotions are more resilient when facing stress, challenges and adversity.
7. Positive people are able to maintain a broader perspective and see the big picture which helps them identify solutions whereas negative people maintain a narrower perspective and tend to focus on problems.
8. Positive thoughts and emotions counter the negative effects of stress. For example, you can't be thankful and stressed at the same time.
9. Positive emotions such as gratitude and appreciation help athletes perform at a higher level.
10. Positive people have more friends which is a key factor of happiness and longevity.
11. Positive and popular leaders are more likely to garner the support of others and receive pay raises and promotions and achieve greater success in the workplace.

So there they are. Perhaps you can think of other reasons - but all of these resulted from various studies.

You can download a PDF file of these at Jon's website:
www.jongordon.com