(ThyBlackMan.com) Put two people in the same set of adversarial circumstances and you will likely get two very different responses to their environment. One person will likely think in dire terms while the other will think optimistically. Why? Neuroscience is now confirming what we’ve suspected for quite some time: The way we think about a given situation is predicated on our belief system, among other things. One way or the other, that belief system can yield negative or positive health benefits for the holder. Positive thinking can literally improve your health!
Here are three benefits to thinking positive.
Benefit#1
Positive Thinking Boosts Immunity
According to the publication Brain, Behavior and Immunity, cells in our bodies that mediate immunity reaction, respond quicker and 
more efficiently to optimistic-thinkers. Observe your own reaction when you are in a room with a person who has an obvious cold. What are the thoughts going through your head? Afraid you will catch their cold? The aforementioned publication confirms just that: if you think you will catch that particular person’s germ, you exponentially increase the likelihood that you indeed will catch it.
The bottom line is when we think more positive than negative thoughts, we are rewarded with a more robust immunity response system that makes it less likely we will succumb to the environment.
Benefit#2
Positive Thinking Lowers Stress Level
The mind-body connection has been studied under the light of neuroscience quite stridently during the past quarter-century. The evidence is quite clear that the more positive our belief system, the less likely we are to succumb to stress. High levels of faith commitment (positive thinking) correlate with lower levels of depression and stress, and give us a greater ability to cope with uncertainty, according to the scholar, Patrick Glenn. Faith commitment, whether one practices it within a religious body or personally, has an immeasurable impact on how we respond to stress. Another study found that people who are not frequent church attendees were four times more likely to commit suicide as those who were.
Benefit#3
Positive Thinking Increases Your Life Span
If you want to live longer, think positive! It is estimated that we think 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts per day. Of that number, for the pessimist, eighty percent of the thoughts are negative in nature. That percentage likely correlates with a shorter life span.
The publication JAMA Psychiatry released a study that found those of a pessimistic disposition were 55% more likely to die during the nine-year follow-up period (a trend was more pronounced in men).
The authors of the study speculate that people who are positive-thinkers generally have more to live for, are more goal-oriented and are more motivated to move toward their goals than more pessimistic-thinking people.
Or, in the words of William Arthur Ward: The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. It’s the expectation that matters, the spirit of looking and moving forward regardless of where one finds him or herself in life.
So adjust those sails and think positive!
Staff Writer; W. Eric Croomes
This talented brother is a holistic lifestyle exercise expert and founder and executive coach of Infinite Strategies LLC, a multi-level coaching firm that develops and executes strategies for fitness training, youth achievement and lifestyle management. Eric is an author, fitness professional, holistic life coach and motivational speaker.
In October 2015, Eric released Life’s A Gym: Seven Fitness Principles to Get the Best of Both, which shows readers how to use exercise to attract a feeling of wellness, success and freedom (Infinite Strategies Coaching LLC, 2015) – http://www.infinitefitnesscoaching.com.
