Welcome to the You Can Heal Your Life podcast. Today is the third episode in our four-part

Power of Affirmation series. Throughout this series, you'll learn how positive thoughts

can transform every area of your life. Today, we're sharing an excerpt from David Hamilton

PhD's audiobook, How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body. Dr. Hamilton will teach you why people

with optimistic outlooks are healthier, have better relationships, and are overall

happier in their lives. If you enjoy today's episode, we hope you'll join us for the

free, Change Your Life with Affirmations Challenge beginning October 4th. This virtual event

will include daily live webinars with Robert Holden, as well as daily lessons, affirmations,

and guided meditations. Sign up for free at hayhouse.com-affirm. That's hayhouse.com-affirm.

Part 1. The Mind Body Connection

Chapter 1. The Power of Positive Thinking

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every

difficulty, Winston Churchill. Optimists live longer than pessimists. That's the conclusion

of a 30-year study involving 447 people, which was conducted by scientists at the Mayo Clinic

in the USA. They found that optimists had around a 50% lower risk of early death than pessimists,

and wrote that mind and body are linked and attitude has an impact on the final outcome.

Death. A startling statistic. Optimists were also found to have fewer physical and emotional

health problems, less pain, and increased energy. And they generally felt more peaceful,

happier, and calmer than the pessimists. A 2004 study published in the journal Archives

of General Psychiatry found a similar thing. It concluded that there is a protective relationship

between optimism and all cause mortality in old age. Optimism protects you from illness.

The scientists studied the responses given by 999 Dutch men and women between the ages of 65

...