Live Longer, Be Happy!

By Lionel Ketchian
"There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." - Epictetus

Nine years ago, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reached their conclusions about the protective effect of happiness after analyzing data on 2,478 men and women. They were all 65 years of age or older.

These people were all given a questionnaire that consisted of twenty questions or statements that required a yes or no response. Sixteen of these were negative pronouncements such as "I felt that I could not shake off the blues, even with the help of my family and friends," "I thought that my life had been a failure" and "I felt fearful." The other four statements were positive, such as "I felt that I was just as good as other people," and "I felt hopeful about the future."

None of the participants had ever had a stroke at the time the questionnaire was completed. The researchers then followed the participants over a six-year period to see how their health had changed. During that time, out of the 2,478 people who took the study, 340 had strokes, and 75 of these people died. The researchers then tried to connect those occurrences to the participants' original answers to the questionnaire.

For each "yes" answer to a positive statement there was a 26% decrease in the risk of stroke. Let's take a close look at this study. There were 20 questions or statements, 16 negative ones that dealt with unhappiness, and 4 positive ones that were about being happy and optimistic. If they had answered yes to all 4 positive statements there was a 100% chance of not having a stroke. Strokes are the third most common cause of death and they are the leading cause of long-term disability among the elderly.

This study was published on Friday, March 23, 2001, in the Journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. Researchers said that this study shows that "high levels of positive effect" seem to shield older people from having a stroke. Elderly folks who often feel blue tend to have more strokes than those who are not depressed, according to the study.

I am very happy that this study has been done. We can now all see the positive effect of "Being Happy," on the health, quality, and length of life. If you are the type of person that needs proof, then here you have it - "Proof Positive," is here for you to see!

The need to become happy is one that we must learn to embrace. If it is not enough to know that it affects your health, now you know it is nothing less than a life and death matter. Your thinking, your state of mind, and the way you feel, all have a direct effect on your health.

You have a choice right now to look at things differently. Now you know that having an unhappy outlook may result in proving yourself right. Is unhappiness worth the price we'd have to all pay? NO, the price is much too high. Take control of your happiness, it is one of the most important things that you can do. Do you really think you can control all the people and circumstances in your life? You will wear yourself out trying. Take control of yourself, which is where your power lies.

"At every single moment of one's life, one is going to be no less than what one has been." - Oscar Wilde

If you are unhappy now, then in the next moment you will be no less than you have been, and that is unhappy. The good news is that this can work the other way for you. If you decide to be happy now, your next moment will be no less than what it has been. Your happiness or unhappiness is your intention to decide how things will continue to be. If you decide to be happy, than you have sent that intention ahead of you to act as your trailblazer for the path you shall travel. Life is hard enough without being your own worst enemy!

Walk with happiness, get the feel of it in your stride, in your head, and in your heart. You will experience the very best that life has to offer you. Of course you will encounter negative things along the way, just like anyone else. But you will be taking the high road in life and you will be doing the best you can with what you have. You will feel happiness within yourself and you will spread it naturally and effortlessly to everyone you meet, the happy and the not so happy.

By taking happiness for yourself, you will be able to give it to others. How can you give away what you do not have. Another important aspect about living a happy life is the fact that you will be spreading happiness in the world. This world needs happiness more than anything. What a wonderful gift your happiness will make. You will make all the difference in the world, and you will do it by "Being Happy."

Avoid having a stroke, Live Longer, Be Happy!