This is the title of the latest book, this one by Dr.
Hilary Tindle, pointing to the alleged health benefits and life-prolonging
effect of chronic upbeatness. Since the “positive outlook” Dr. Tindle evokes is
completely and utterly foreign to me, I envision a nightmarish scenario for the
true optimist she wants everyone to be.
Yes, optimism can perhaps be good for your health.
Weakened anxiety, however, can also predispose you to more risk taking. What if a relentlessly "positive outlook" prompts you to make some reckless financial bets (the kind of foolhardiness which,
by the way, gave us the global financial crisis, to say nothing of the invasions of Iraq or Aghanistan, etc.); and then you are stuck living until you are 104 with negative personal
“worth”?
And another word of caution – in some social contexts, optimism itself can be quite incurable, as demonstrated by this title of a recent NYT article: “Even Pessimists Feel
Optimistic About the US Economy.” Yeah, right…
