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, who are born every day, people, who get new life opportunities, happy marriages, etc. The greatest gift is to see the positive sides of life, without focusing our attention on the negative ones. According to Winston Churchill, a pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. In my opinion this is really true, because positive or negative attitude towards life can greatly influence our chances of success, feelings and even health. Positive thinking can be the best treatment for those who don't know what to do in a problematic life situation. The optimistic attitude can help the person live longer, recover faster from life-threatening diseases such as cancer and coronary heart disease, and avoid alcoholism and psychological problems (such as depression). An optimistic attitude is a great way to feel better, even in difficult times. The interesting question is whether this can help the optimistic person experience happy moments longer than his 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 quite unambiguous: for every ten-point increase in a person's score on the optimism scale, the risk of premature death decreased by 19%. It is a very good result, because, as we can see, the level of optimism is making people's lives... half of paper... Psychology: the benefits of living positively. Psychological center. Retrieved from http://psychcentral.comMaruta, T., Colligan, R. C., Malinchoc, M., & Offord, K. P. (2000). Optimists vs. Pessimists: Survival rate among medical patients over a 30-year period. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 75, 140–143. Ohannessian, C. M., Hesselbrock, V. M., Tennen, H., & Affleck, G. (1993). Problems, improvements, and generalized outcome expectations as moderators of the relationship between a family history of alcoholism and alcohol-related behaviors. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 55, 754-763. Schou, I., Ekeberg, O., & Ruland, C. M. (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