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In, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell writes, “There’s no possibility of being pessimistic when people are dependent on you for their only optimism.” —Jim L. Wilson -- David and Goliath: Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Kindle Loc 1537 Psalm…

William Arthur Ward says, “The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell The Week, March 15, 2013 p. 17 1 Peter 5:7 (ESV) casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

A new study concludes regular attendance at religious services is associated with a more optimistic outlook and a lower likelihood of suffering from depression. The new results support other findings suggesting participation in religious worship and activities promotes psychological and physical health.…

According to a recent survey, Americans remain an optimistic people. One of the effects of such optimism is a rosier vision of the future than is realistic. For example, 10% of us believe we will live to be 100. In reality, only 0.02% will make it to the century mark. Another telling percentage is the…

Sometimes in the midst of difficult times, we do well to stop and count our blessings. Rory Mcllroy was sailing along in the lead of the 2011 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. The Masters is one of, if not the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. Only 21 years old, Mcllroy had lead…

I worked as a registered nurse for about ten years before my life took a different direction. One of my earliest patients was a young girl of about 14 who had been in a dirt bike accident. I met this young girl down in the physical therapy department. She was in a whirlpool bath. I had read her chart…

OPTIMISM Scientists have discovered that helplessness will negatively impact a person's health and that optimists are better able to cope with distress in their lives. In fact, scientists at UCLA claim that optimists have more T cells to fight disease with than their pessimistic counterparts. —Reader's…

A new study suggests that optimists live longer than pessimists do. The study of almost 100,000 women found that optimists—women who expected that good things, not bad, would happen—were 30% less likely to die of heart disease during the course of the study than pessimists. Trusting women were 23% less…

“This positive-thinking stuff is crap,” she said to me one evening as I sat on her hospital bed. “But then, so is negative thinking. They both cover up reality — which is that we just don’t know what is going to happen. That’s the reality we have to live with. But it is easy to see why people take refuge…

Dear Mom, Our scoutmaster told us all write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and worried. We are OK. Only 1 of our tents and 2 sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Chad when it happened. Oh yes, please call Chad's…

A surprising number of teenagers — nearly 15 percent — think they're going to die young, leading many to drug use, suicide attempts and other unsafe behavior, new research suggests. The study, based on a survey of more than 20,000 kids, challenges conventional wisdom that says teens engage in risky behavior…