Optimism by choice

byazmanarr

375 followers

Updated 6 years ago

My own definition of Optimism = " a comforting, good feeling inside you when you displace fear and negativity with hope and positivity. "

The person adopting optimism is an optimist. The opposite of optimism is pessimism (person : pessimist). An optimist and a pessimist perceive the same thing very differently.

As an example - if an optimist sees a glass of water half-full, then a pessimist would see it as half-empty. In another example, we can see distinct characters between them. In a "bad" economy, an optimist works harder to seek and grow opportunities. While a pessimist complains and blames incessantly but do nothing worthwhile.

So, when an optimist or a pessimist are prompted by the same news, situation, choices or opinion, their reactions will contrast greatly.

Let's focus on optimism.

Optimism is not blind faith nor naivety. When an optimist is challenged by a hardship or a predicament, he will pause instead of panicking. This short mental pause is powerful because he is seeking to better understand the current situation and the environment. He ask questions like :

• do I confront this matter directly
  
• do I work around the obstacle
• do I wait until it cools down
• do I take another path

Thus, an optimist is a doer who will not be stopped by challenges towards his goals. He is calming and comforting to others in desperate moments.

Optimism indicates sheer hope and a positive mind in a person. This may mean optimism is synonymous with happiness, no matter what. After some practice, optimism can become our automatic reactions. It is a mental attitude and character strength by choice. We need optimism in our journey to success or otherwise we will give up easily.

One way to make optimism our personal trait is by displacing fear and negativity with hope and positivity. We'll talk more about the how-to, in another article.

Let's end this article with a quote. "Because optimism isn't a belief that things will automatically get better; it's a conviction that we can make things better." Bill and Melinda Gates

Hope this article is useful.