If You're Happy and You Know It ...

Sometimes I just don't get happy people. You know the type I mean. The grass is always greener where they live. The sky is always bluer. The sun always shines from their faces. There's never any traffic on their roads. Life is just a little bit better in their town.

I've worked with people like this over the years. I even had a boss once who was like this. He'd show up for work every day just happy as could be. Optimism seemed to be his middle name. And he always was coming up with nicknames for people. Mine was "Shorty." (I'm really six feet six inches tall. Get it?)

My friends will be quick to tell you that my approach to life is often a lot less sunny. While some people will look at the proverbial glass and say it's half full, I'm the one who will look at that same glass and see the crack and try to throw the whole thing away. But now comes word that the happy folk of this world are going to have a long last laugh on people like me, and their laughter may last as long as 10 years.

David Snowden, a University of Kentucky researcher, has spent 15 years studying the health and lifestyles of a large group of Catholic sisters. Recently he came across autobiographies that some of the sisters had written during their early 20s. He carefully analyzed the content of each piece of writing, looking particularly for such words as "joy," "happy," "content," and "love." And Snowden found some interesting connections. Those who expressed a more positive outlook in their writings lived up to a decade longer than those who declared fewer positive emotions.

Other research has shown that people suffering from anger and hostility tend to have higher rates of chronic illnesses. Scientists speculate that turning negative emotions on and off several times a day has a cumulative effect on your body, eventually leading to heart disease or stroke.

Snowden's research clearly demonstrates a long-term mind-body connection. And it calls to mind some good advice that I'm sure these sisters knew themselves. The Bible reminds us that "a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" (Proverbs 17:22, NIV). It feels good to be happy and hopeful. Even the Bible writer knew that our bodies thrive when we're able to look to the future with a smile. Hey, I'm trying. I may not be Mr. Sunshine yet. But who knows? Maybe someday I'll even try to come up with a cute nickname for someone.