well-being. The positivethinking that typically comes with optimism is a key part of effective stressmanagement. And effective stress management is associated with many healthbenefits. If you tend to be pessimistic, don't despair you can learn positivethinking skills. Here's how.Understandingpositive thinking and self-talkPositive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand andignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that youapproach the unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You thinkthe best is going to happen, not the worst.Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endlessstream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head every day. Theseautomatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comesfrom logic and reason. Other selftalk may arise from misconceptions that youcreate because of lack of information.If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, youroutlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostlypositive, you're likely an optimist someone who practices positive thinking.The health benefitsof positive thinkingResearchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking andoptimism on health. Healthbenefits that positive thinking may provide include: Increased life span Lower rates ofdepression Lower levels ofdistress Greater resistance tothe common cold Better psychologicaland physical well-being Reduced risk of deathfrom cardiovascular disease Better coping skillsduring hardships and times of stressIt's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience thesehealth benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you tocope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effectsof stress on your body. It's also thought that positive and optimistic peopletend to live healthier lifestyles they get more physical activity, follow ahealthier diet, and don't smoke or drink alcohol in excess.Identifying negativethinkingNot sure if your self-talk is positive or negative? Here are some commonforms of negative self-talk:Filtering. You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all ofthe positive ones. For example, say you had a great day at work. You completedyour tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough job.But you forgot one minor step. That evening, you focus only on your oversight andforget about the compliments you received.Personalizing. When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. Forexample, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assumethat the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around you.Catastrophizing. You automatically anticipate the worst. The drive-through coffee shopgets your order wrong and you automatically think that the rest of your daywill be a disaster.Polarizing. You see things only as either good or bad, black or white. There is nomiddle ground. You feel that you have to be perfect or that you're a totalfailure.Focusing on positivethinkingYou can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. Theprocess is simple, but it does take time and practice you're creating a newhabit, after all. Here are some ways to think and behave in a more positive andoptimistic way:Identify areas tochange. If you want to become more optimistic and engage inmore positive thinking, first identify areas of your life that you typicallythink negatively about, whether it's