Winston Churchill once said, “The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible”. Every day is a choice, and being optimistic is the finest one to make. Louise in “Dear Miss Breed” by Joanne Oppenheim finds ways to stay upbeat in rough times far from home, and Anne Frank in “The Diary Of Anne Frank” by Anne Frank is also looking sunnyside-up while hidden from the Nazis. Even though positivity doesn’t always have the results expected, such as in Anne Frank’s case, positivity helps to build a resistance to the hardships to come. The best way to respond to conflict is by maintaining an optimistic outlook and reacting in a positive way. Not only does keeping a …show more content…
In the article “How The Power Of Positive Thinking Works”, Eric Kim, a researcher in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard, states that, “‘our new findings suggest that we should make efforts to boost optimism, which has been shown to be associated with healthier behaviors and healthier ways of coping with life challenges’” (Feldscher). Optimism during conflict can help people to deal with the situation better and in the aftermath, that difference can lead to more advantageous results. Learning to stay upbeat undeniably creates a better life and perspective of the outside world. Specifically, in the play “The Diary Of Anne Frank”, Anne does her best to look on the bright side of things. As a way of doing this, Anne hand-makes a gift for everyone out of the materials she had for the celebration of Hanukkah. To emphasize, “ Mrs. Frank, Mr. Dussel and Mrs.Van Daan were surprised by Anne’s thoughtfulness of others for the Hanukkah celebration and were delighted by her magnanimity” (Goodrich, Frances, and Albert Hackett). Despite the fact that she and seven others are cooped up in a small Annex, constantly in fear, Anne is able to find ways to bring joy into the situation, proving exactly what Eric Kim was expressing about life challenges and healthy ways of …show more content…
In James Clear’s article “The Science of Positive Thinking: How Positive Thoughts Build Your Skills, Boost Your Health and Improve Your Work”, he presents that “positive emotions broaden your sense of possibilities and open your mind, which in turn allows you to build new skills and resources that can provide value in other areas of your life” (Clear). Positivity has the effect to allow the mind to see more potential possibilities in situations, and since it has this affect on people, it can allow more room for growth and learning. This can not only influence the outcome of future situations of similar forms, but it can also allow for us to improve how we act in certain scenarios. To emphasize this, Professor Barbara Fredrickson specifies that positive emotions “‘expand our awareness so that in the moment...our peripheral vision expands, our ability to take in more of our surroundings and connect the dots and see the big picture is facilitated’” (Malcom). So, the simple act of positive thinking has a way of improving one’s ability to see more of the picture, which in turn can allow us to open up to more options and see better ways of resolving the problem. Fredrickson also mentions that neutral thinking narrows one’s mindsets, and negative thinking even further restricting, which could lead to more stress and rash decisions, furthermore proving that a positive attitude more has beneficial