Tuesday 25 March 2008

Positive outlook

I began smiling when I read this in the papers this morning, "Positive outlook, longer life".

In a nutshell, a recent study of patients with heart disease found that those who were pessimistic about their recovery were twice likely to die compared to those who were optimistic.

I'm glad I fall in the optimistic category. You may call people like me easy going, simple minded, naive or happy go lucky, but who cares? At least we're a happy lot.

When I was lying in the labour ward, with labour pains slowly creeping up on me, I told the nurse, "I think I'm going to deliver soon because my contractions are getting closer now."

"That, my dear, is not contractions. You wouldn't be smiling then. You don't know what labour pain is!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, really? Maybe mine is different and not so painful." I replied cheerfully, insisting that I didn't need any form of pain relief during childbirth.

Well, I spoke too soon of course. By the time the pain was too intense to bear, I was screaming for epidural (the most popular means of pain relief during labour) but it was too late to administer. So, I endured hours of acute labour pain before YK made his grand exit.

I can proudly say that I had the most natural form of childbirth, without the aid of anesthesia. Foolish maybe, but it was worth it. After the intense pain eased, life quickly went back to normal. The best thing was, I didn't have to worry about the risk and side effects of epidural.

Many times in life, my positive outlook has helped me to overcome adversities, open new doors and handle tough situations. Some people say it's luck but I think I'm just happy go lucky.

4 comments:

The Real Mother Hen said...

You are indeed optimistic :)
You know what, I haven't thought of "happy go lucky" in that way, now it all makes sense :)

Anonymous said...

You're a happy person and I'm lucky to be with you!

WaterLearner said...

I read this article over lunch today. It brought a smile to my face as well. For me, being optimistic did not come easy. I am naturally the more thoughtful and at time a little pessimistic.

Life's many experiences has taught me not to worry unnecessarily. State of worrying puts one in an uncomfortable and highly uncreative state of mind.

For now, I choose to learn to accept the everyday uncertainties of life and take all with a smile.

Great Sharing! I hope I can be so cool in labour!

Michelle said...

Lovely post, Ting... just like you. Keep being a sunshine spirit! :-)

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