Message from the President

It’s a greeting that has been shared many times in the last week or two.

It’s certainly a friendly greeting. But it is typically more. It’s a sincere wish for a year filled with health, happiness, and success. All things that we would wish for ourselves, and those whom we care about.

That greeting rapidly falls into disuse as the cold and snowy days of January pass. But there is something we can do, that goes way beyond a heartfelt greeting, that can significantly improve the chances that the wish will come true. Something that is not only good for those around us but also very good for each one of us.

We can commit to being positive. With our thoughts and actions, with our words and tone of voice, with our smiles and gestures, we can be a source of optimism, encouragement, humor, and love.

If you’re an optimist, you’re already on board. If you tend to be more of a pessimist, you may need a lot more convincing.

Here’s some evidence.

It has been well proven, with dozens of studies, that stress can kill you. Probably largely through the effects of something called a stress response. That response, also called the fight or flight reflex, was discovered more than 100 years ago by Dr. Walter Cannon, a Harvard University professor. Stress in our lives produces a physiologic response that we are all familiar with. It increases our heart rate and blood pressure and quickens our breathing. That stress response is largely responsible for the increased risk for serious illness like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

It’s also been well proven that generating a relaxation response, first described in 1975 by Dr. Herbert Benson, also a Harvard professor, can counteract the impact of stress and the stress response.

And, especially over the last decade, there is increasing evidence that a positive attitude can minimize the harmful effects of the stress response and maximize the benefits of the relaxation response.

It has also been proven that we can retrain our brains to be positive. Stop and be grateful for a few minutes. Take time to intentionally relax or meditate. Make a conscious decision to be kind. Extend grace and forgiveness to others when they slight you. Reframe events that feel stressful to circumstances where you can learn and grow. And do those things every day.

Does that sound like hard work? Maybe. But research shows that within just a month you can rewire your brain to make it easier and more automatic. It soon becomes your new default. And when you live a more positive life, you reduce your chances for just about every serious illness and your risk for premature death.

Returning to that New Year’s wish. That new, more positive attitude of yours, will be contagious. It will help make 2018 a healthier and happier year for those around you. That New Year’s wish just might become a New Year’s reality.

If you would like to read more of Message from the President, click here.