We are told that those who are cheerful live longer, but this chapter debunks that belief. The cheerful participants died young, while the seldom lived longer. Friedman continues to talk about comedians who are secretly depressed on the inside. The fact that surprised me the most was that not only the Terman participants died young, but they were also more prone to die from suicide, accident, or homicide compared to the more serious participants who died of cancer or heart disease. So yes, you can laugh more lessen your chances to die of heart disease, but you can die from other causes as well. Though this is not a causal relationship and is only correlational, I thought that was funny.
The book also focuses on having a realistic perspective of optimism instead of having too much optimism to let life events eventually lead to disappointment and frustration. I feel like most people say, “be optimistic!” given a terribly situation without truly knowing what they’re saying. I’m glad the book touched on living realistically, and not on the Tinker Bell Principle.
I also thought it was interesting that women who worried more were prone to die younger, and men who worried more were more were likely to live longer. Though there are many factors to consider while measuring this in the early 1900s(ie. job type, gender roles, social pressures), it is something to consider while counting factors towards longevity.
I also liked the metaphor on how few of us would buy extra long clothes in an effort to make us grow taller. Many articles and various sources of media tell us that if we watch less TV, go to the gym more, improve social relationships, and etc, we’ll improve our happiness. However, the book points out that that is not the case, and that those activities don’t cause happiness, but are the result of being happy and living a certain lifestyle.