In brief: Believe good things can - and will - happen
In brief
Believe good things can — and will — happen
The 2004 baseball season brightened the outlook of many fatalistic New England residents. We received one e-mail from a Red Sox fan that captured the collective consciousness in these parts in late October: “We suffer no more. Free at last. Everything is different. The trees, the leaves. I’ve never seen such vibrant colors before…”
Red Sox fans may stay healthier and live longer if they hang on to this positive outlook. Researchers have developed standardized tests to gauge optimism; the Life Orientation Test (LOT) is one of them. Results from studies using these tests show that people who see the glass as half-full tend to cope better and have better health habits.
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