One of the questions I often hear about my resilience work is whether I really believe that “having a positive attitude is all it takes to overcome life’s difficulties?”

Uh, no…I don’t…

However having the right attitude is an important factor in how we recover and grow from adversity. Even more specifically, the power of our mindset is a key element in everything from happiness to longevity.

A research study recently conducted at Stanford indicated that people who think they are less active than others in their own age group die younger than those who believe they are more active, even if their activity levels are essentially similar.

The researchers retrospectively studied survey results from 60,000 US adults completed over 20 years ago and reviewed the mindset question about whether they thought they were more or less physically active than their age peers. They discovered that the people who believed they were less active than others were 71% more likely to die in a follow-up period than their age peers.

Adding positive mindset to our fitness routine can take on small acknowledgements such as recognizing the gains from walking stairs or taking a mid-day stroll. Expanding out mindset to appreciate how well we are approaching a problem at work or how much our sons and daughters relish our being at their sporting event adds time and joy to your lives.

Our mind is a powerful tool and when working in concert with our bodies instead of opposition to our bodies creates energy and success.

© Richard Citrin, All rights reserved, 2017