By Dr. Kevin Lau
"Is the glass half full or half empty?" Yes, this may be a cliché question, but it can reflect a person's view on life, his attitude towards himself and the world, and whether he is an optimistic or pessimistic person. Numerous studies have shown that optimism versus pessimism can affect a person's health and overall well-being. Generally speaking, optimistic people think positively, and positive or optimistic thinking is a key part of effective stress management. It is impossible to live without stress, and whether you can manage stress can determine your future success in life. Therefore, whether young people have positive thinking has become a major factor that can determine their future success.
Point 1: Creating better young people
Home and Youth Affairs Bureau has also recognized the importance of this issue. Not only did they launch the "Youth Development Blueprint" at the end of 2022, which outlines the government's philosophy, goals and actions on youth development, but also announced the list of funding organizations for the "Funding Scheme for Youth Positive Thinking Activities (2023-25)" and "Funding Scheme for Youth Adventure Training Activities (2023-25)" under the Youth Development Fund a few days ago.
As can be seen from the names of these two programs, their purpose is to provide systematic, high-quality and large-scale adventure training activities for young people in Hong Kong, so as to improve their physical and mental health, positive thinking, resilience, discipline spirit and team awareness. The ultimate goal is to cultivate young people's positive thinking and positive values, and turn them into better young people, young social elites who are responsible, have ideals, and are willing to contribute to the future development of Hong Kong and the country.
Point 2: Young people will benefit for life
The ancients said, "Unsatisfactory things happen all the time." If there are no unsatisfactory things in life, that is an idiotic dream and an unrealistic requirement. Positive thinking does not require young people to ignore the unpleasant things in life, but to train them to deal with the unpleasant things in life in a more positive and productive way, so that they often hope for the best instead of the worst.
From a medical perspective, positive thinking often begins with mental self-thoughts, the unspoken thoughts that keep popping up in one's mind. These inner thoughts can be positive or negative. If the thoughts in a person's head are mostly negative, then his outlook on life is likely to be pessimistic too. If his thoughts are mostly positive, he is probably an optimist. The latter often practice positive thinking and positive thinking, and naturally have better resilience.
Point 3: Benefits for Hong Kong and the country
President Xi Jinping once said that "When the young people thrive, Hong Kong thrives." and The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee also quoted this sentence in his policy address. Young people are the pillars of tomorrow's society and the future and hope of Hong Kong. Whether Hong Kong can achieve greater success in the future depends to a large extent on the quality of our young generation. Quality includes physical and psychological quality, and many studies have established the relationship between positive thinking and physical health. People with positive thinking have better mental and physical health, not only improve disease resistance, improve cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke, but also enjoy a lower incidence of depression and better mental health. The "Funding Scheme for Youth Positive Thinking Activities" and "Funding Scheme for Youth Adventure Training Activities" are aimed at cultivating such outstanding young people for Hong Kong and the country.
The author is a specialist in radiology with a Master of Public Health from the University of Hong Kong, and an adviser of Our Hong Kong Foundation.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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