The benefits – and dangers – of optimism

IT PAYS to be an optimist. Upbeat types tend to be in better health.

A meta-analysis by Alan Rozanski, a cardiologist, and his co-authors found that optimism was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events. They also tend to be resilient.

Optimists are likely to see setbacks as temporary and attributable to external circumstances, whereas pessimists regard reverses as a verdict on their own enduring weaknesses.