How To Rewire Your Brain for Optimism

Discover how a simple neuroscience-backed visualization exercise can boost optimism, resilience, and healthy aging.

Optimism is defined as a general expectation that good things will happen, and that kind of mindset is one of the strongest psychological predictors of healthy longevity. People with a more optimistic outlook don’t just feel better; They live longer, bounce back faster, and age more vibrantly.

In a large, longitudinal study conducted by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine and published in PNAS, women and men with the highest levels of optimism were significantly more likely to live past the age of 85. In fact, optimism was associated with an 11–15% longer lifespan, even after accounting for factors like depression, socioeconomic status, chronic illness, and health behaviors.

Another study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society went deeper. Researchers analyzed more than 150,000 older adults and found that optimism was positively linked with healthy aging markers like stronger grip strength and faster chair stand times, physical benchmarks of functional independence. These associations held even after adjusting for social integration, medical history, and mood.

Translation: Optimists don’t just live longer. They live better.

Why Optimists Live Longer

Optimism isn’t about naïveté. It’s a practical mindset that fuels healthier choices and boosts resilience. Studies suggest that optimistic people are:

• More proactive about preventive health measures
  
• Better at stress management, which reduces inflammatory load and cortisol over time
  
• More socially connected, which is independently associated with reduced mortality risk
  
• More likely to persevere when faced with health setbacks or life changes
  

In short, they see a path forward and they take it.

How to Rewire Your Brain for Optimism

Optimism is a skill. And it can be trained.

One of the most well-researched and effective methods to boost optimism? A deceptively simple visualization and writing practice called Best Possible Self (BPS). Grounded in the science of positive psychology, this technique helps rewire your brain to expect  and pursue  better outcomes.

How to Do the Best Possible Self Exercise

Set aside 10–20 minutes. Choose a quiet space where you can reflect without distraction.

1. Visualize Your Best Future
   Imagine yourself at a point in the future where everything has gone as well as it possibly could. You’ve worked hard, stayed true to your values, and things have unfolded in the most fulfilling way. What does that look like? Where are you? Who are you with? How do you feel?
   
2. Write It Down in Detail
   Spend 10–15 minutes writing about that future in vivid, specific terms. The act of writing helps crystallize your vision and strengthens the neural pathways that reinforce it.
   
3. Add a Mental Rehearsal
   After writing, take 5 minutes to close your eyes and imagine this best future unfolding,  as if it’s happening now. Feel the emotions. Picture the scenes. This mental imagery activates the same brain regions involved in real experiences.
   
4. Repeat Weekly
   For sustained benefits, revisit this practice once or twice a week. You can write about different areas of life, relationships, health, work, or purpose,  or return to a central vision and refine it.
   

What the Science Says:

A 2023 randomized study in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry found that the Best Possible Self practice significantly increased:

• Optimism: Increased positive future expectancies and decreased negative future expectancies
  
• Positive affect: Increased feelings like inspiration, excitement, and contentment.

Surprisingly,  simply imagining your best possible self worked just as well as imagining and writing it down, offering flexibility for how you apply the practice in real life. Whether you’re more of a journaler or a visual thinker, or both, it works.

Why it works:

The BPS exercise helps shift your expectancy bias the way your brain predicts the future. Instead of scanning for threats or disappointments, it begins to orient toward opportunity, growth, and possibility. That’s more than just wishful thinking. It’s a neuroplastic training for psychological resilience. Your literally rewiring your brain for a better future. 

Who It’s For

The Best Possible Self practice is especially helpful for anyone feeling stuck, uncertain, or overwhelmed by change. It’s a powerful tool for those navigating major life transitions,  whether that’s entering midlife, shifting careers, or starting a new health journey. It also serves people who are ready to set more intentional goals or reconnect with a deeper sense of purpose. While widely used in well-being and coaching settings, this practice has also been integrated into clinical therapy for challenges like depression and even chronic pain, with promising, research-backed outcomes..

Set a timer. Imagine a version of your life where things go beautifully right. Even one session can create a mental shift. But like any strength, optimism builds with repetition.

Try it this week! Let us know what you discover.