When you understand this, it becomes more clear how optimism and positive self-talk can impact your stress levels, as can pessimism and negative self-talk. Negative events are less stressful when you see them as 'not your fault', and less likely to recur. Similarly, positive events are even sweeter when you see them as evidence of more to come, and see yourself as the master of your own fate. Additionally, because of the difference in behavior in optimists vs. pessimists, those who habitually practice positive thinking tend to experience more success, which can add up to a less stressful life.

So how can you use this information to reduce your stress level? Fortunately, optimism can be learned. With practice, you can change your self-talk (your inner dialogue, what you say to yourself about what you're experiencing) and your explanatory style (the specific ways that optimists and pessimists process their experiences). Here's how:

• Positive affirmations can also help you reprogram yourself and your way of thinking so that positive thinking becomes more automatic and less something you need to think about consciously in each new situation. (Learn more about positive affirmations and aquiring the positive self-talk habit.)

  Once you understand your current way of seeing things, you can make a conscious effort to look at things differently as you're presented with situations.