It is surprise for me to know that the magnitude of the link between cheerfulness and early death is comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure. In my mind, I think happy, cheerful people can always find ways to cope with difficult situations and therefore tend to be heathier. As mentioned in the book that cheerful people are less likely to die from cancer and heart disease, and they are more likely to believe in placebos and stick with the regimen given by the doctor. However, cheerful children grow up to be more carefree: some of the cheerful children in the Terman study were either trying to hide some troubling aspects of their lives or were oblivious of potential danger around them. Cheerful children grew up to drink more alcohol and smoke more cigarettes. It might be that cheerful people are less concerned with things that could go wrong in their bodies. They are also more likely to engage in risker activities like hunting and aviation.
As a neurotic person myself, it is good to know that there is a helpful role of worrying. And the more I read about how worrying can be helpful later in life, the more I feel there might be an evolutionary reason behind why being worry and conscientious can be helpful. It can be that in a hunting-gathering society, people who worried more were more likely to hunt or gather more food for future purpose. In the adulthood, happiness is less decided by one’s inborn personality, but more related with how he or she copes with challenges. In a study done in 1930s, men who coped with challenges in a mature manner and maintained deep social relationships tend to be more happily lived and have more healthy habits. Happiness or sadness was an outcome, just as was wellness and sickness.