Your brain likes positivity. Research shows that, although the brain is wired for negativity, it likes optimism. Neuroscientists have found that chronic pessimism damages your telomeres—the protective tips at the end of chromosomes that are shortened by negative thoughts and lengthened by positive thoughts. Shortened telomeres make us prone to declining health, truncated career trajectory and earlier death. Additional research shows people who are enthusiastic and cheerful are less likely to have memory decline as they age. Positivity is always present—even under the direst pressures. Focusing on the possible, big-picture aspects of situations enlarges your brain’s range of vision, allowing it to see more possibilities. Studies show when you expand your negativity’s constrictive “zoom lens” into a “wide-angle lens,” it creates more optimism, and optimists scale the career ladder faster and farther than pessimists.