Life is a creation of mind
Photo: Tanvir Ahmed / Driknews
Is the glass half-empty or half-full? Answer to this age-old question may determine one's perception of life, whether he is a pessimist or an optimist--and it may not only affect his physical and mental health but also impact on his financial condition. Positive thinking plays a great role in improving the condition of the wretched people reducing their poverty. Esther Duflo, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, inferred this from her research on poverty and concluded that the infusion of hope can help the poor people move out of the trap of poverty. Badhon, an MFI of Indian state of West Bengal, provides loan and assets like a cow, a chicken etc to the poor people with the hope of increasing their income level. But evaluating the outcome of the programme, Ms Duflo found that there was a huge improvement in their life style. According to her research, they were eating 15% more and earning 20% more each month. Interestingly, this income gain did not come directly from the assets provided by Badhon. Neither was it attributed to direct effects of grants nor from simply selling the assets. Ms Duflo and her colleague found that the programme had reduced the depression of the recipient imbuing them with energy to work more. Ms Duflo considers that this scenario demonstrated that the insertion of optimism could let the people out of poverty. Hence, infusion of hope has apparent benefits and it keeps our minds composed and improves physical health that leads to a better life. As Budhdha said: "Life is a creation of the mind."
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