"Decades of studies show that people who say their health is poor are likely to die sooner than those who rate their health excellent, even after controlling for how sick people are," writes Katie Gilbert in Psychology Today. "The association is independent of medical diagnoses, symptoms or level of disability.”

She goes on to write “a recent study in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine found that people who consider themselves healthy had wider fluctuations in their levels of the stress-fighting hormone cortisol: low levels most of the time, with big spikes during tense situations. People who felt unhealthy had high levels of cortisol all the time…"

Keep a positive attitude throughout life. You’ll deal with stress better, you’ll heal better, you’ll be happier and in turn, you’ll live longer. Mark twain had it right! “The power which a man's imagination has over his body to heal it or make it sick is a force which none of us are born without. The first man had it; the last one will possess it." -Mark Twain, 1903