It pays to be an optimist. Upbeat types tend to be in better health. A meta-analysis by Alan Rozanski, a cardiologist, and his co-authors found that optimism was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events. They also tend to be resilient. Optimists are likely to see setbacks as temporary and attributable to external circumstances, whereas pessimists regard reverses as a verdict on their own enduring weaknesses.

Optimists are more likely to rise up organisational ladders as well. In a recent paper Nadine Chochoiek of Munich Business School and her co-authors surveyed founders, bosses and employees in the Netherlands, and found that entrepreneurs and managers are as upbeat as each other. Both are more optimistic than employees.

Causality works both ways. Power itself is a source of optimism. It’s easier to feel better about the future if you have an ability to shape it.…