Mindset is what powers our decisions, more so than information. This is something we at AGEIST have learned from a decade of interviews and from our most recent large-scale research survey. Our base levels of pessimism or optimism are probably the single most important element affecting our future health and wellness. People with a more optimistic outlook tend to behave in a way that causes better long-term outcomes for themselves. The reverse is sadly also true. People who believe in a bright future also tend to pay more attention to what they eat, their exercise, how they nurture relationships, and how they manage their finances.
If one feels the future is some grim reality, only to be endured, on which one has no impact, then why make the effort to do anything about it? On a biological level, optimists tend to be more relaxed, feeling that everything will work out. Because of this, they will tend toward parasympathetic activation, the rest and digest part of our biology. The pessimists, on the other hand, are fearful; the bear is out there and he may eat me, therefore I must remain vigilant. This attitude will keep the sympathetic nervous system activated, the fight or flight part of our biology, and keep us in a chronic state of low-level stress.
It is not just the messaging around eating better, exercising, and sleeping better that is important, but it is the mindset of the person receiving this information that is the deciding factor. We first saw this 10 years ago when we were just beginning to understand the differences between various groups within our age range. Why did some of us take better care of ourselves? When we equalize for income, location, and education, we still saw this vast difference in how people were behaving. It came down to a very simple idea: We tend to manifest what we believe, with optimists being far more proactive across all areas.
The lesson here is how important it is to stay positive; this requires actions on our part. Gratitude, helping others, giving ourselves a break, imagining a bright future—they are all tools that work. If these are not your jam, find some that are. This sort of mental/emotional fitness is just as important as lifting in the gym, and, in fact, the two are related: a better mindset is gym motivating, while better exercise feeds back and improves our mindset. We are playing a long game here, and if we want to make the best of it, we need to imagine what that could look like. Then we can move toward it.
Onward and upward,
David
