It’s impossible to tell someone to be happy. This article doesn’t intend to do that. After reading through it, you don’t have to go around twirling your skirt, singing a happy tune. What this is about is optimism. And though the two words are often used interchangeably, there is still a distinction between them. Happiness is an emotion while the other one is an attitude. Optimism refers to you hopeful belief about the future.

Happiness is personal and nebulous. On the other hand, optimism can objectively mean the tendency to expect life to turn out favorably. Ideally, the two ideas go hand in hand, but in some cases, one stands alone. We can feel down and still recognize it as but a momentary rainy day in your life. You can be dissatisfied with your work and relationships but still know that better times lie ahead. Yes, the situation you are in is very unfortunate, but this does not mean that the universe is permanently aligned against you. Studies reveal that people who have hope are less likely to be depressed. They may get anxious with the situation but they know that this is also just a passing cloud. Moreover, optimists live longer than their pessimistic peers. The attitude in itself is an enduring resource that promotes healthy and happy relationships.

What makes optimism most favorable? For starters, they will have better coping skills. They don’t get battered as hard by life’s stressful factors. But its real power might not lie so much in what it does for you. Rather, it is on what it compels you to do. They are the people who trust in the future because they believe that their attitudes will shape their destiny. This may be why positive people are more likely to eat right and exercise. When they get sick, they do everything to find the cure. They are willing to actively participate more in the treatment so that their prognosis improves.

You can be an optimist without changing your outlook in life. It’s all in the way you do things. The person who sees the glass as half empty is just as right as the other who sees it as half full. Even those cynics, as long as they have hope, can bolster their minds, bodies, and spirits for now and the future. The point is, you don’t have to put on those rose-colored glasses. It’s even better to see life’s downsides, but it’s also healthy to consider its upsides as well.

You can enhance your well-being because it leads to a greater engagement in life. You can be thankful for what you have, yet know that you also have to prepare yourself if things don’t always turn out the way you would want them to. More importantly, it’s persistence that paves the way for a better life. Just believe that you will eventually succeed so you just keep working at your goals. You can start by drafting a step-by-step plan of what needs to be done and take careful steps in every way. As long as you have the blueprint to your plans, it’s always easier to pick yourself up every time you fall.