Being optimistic is good for you. Over the last 15 years a slew of research has shown that people who are optimistic are healthier physically and psychologically. One of the reasons is optimists are more likely to continue trying when faced with adversity and also more likely to try out new ways of coping in stressful situations when their old ways of coping don’t work.

More recent work is showing that optimism is also good for your relationship, most likely for the same reasons. In a longitudinal study of dating partners by my friend Sanjay Srivastava (a professor at the University of Oregon) and his colleagues showed that optimists were happier in their relationships and also had partners who were happier, even up to one year later. Why? Well those who were optimistic believed that their partners were more supportive during hard times and more constructive during conflict resolution. This led them to believe that relationship conflicts were more successfully resolved and made the couples happier in the long run. Another study by Kimberly Assad and colleagues looked at both married and dating couples and also showed that optimists (and the partners of optimists) believed that they were more cooperative in their conflict resolution and those relationships were happier up to 2 years later.

So look on the bright side of life, it may make you healthier, happier and have a more successful relationship.

Further Reading:

Assad, K. K., Donnellan, M. B., & Conger, R. D., (2007) Optimism: An enduring resource for romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 285-297.

Srivastava, S., McGonigal, K. M., Richards, J. M., Butler, E. A., Gross, J. J. (2006). Optimism in close relationships: How seeing things in a positive light makes them so. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 143-153.