If you’ve placed second in a writing contest, will you jump for joy and push for better results next time or will you not to join again?
In life, you are always filled with choices. You may choose to have a pessimist’s view and live a self-defeated life or you may decide to take the optimist’s route and take a challenging and fulfilling life.
So why should you nurture an optimist’s point of view? Well, optimism has been linked to positive mood and good morale, to academic, athletic, military, occupational and political success, and even to long life. On the other hand, the rates of depression and pessimism have never been higher. It affects middle-aged adults the same way it hits younger people.
Optimists Expect the Best
The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe that bad events are their own fault. The truth is optimists are confronted with the same hard knocks of this world. What differs is the way they explain their misfortune – it’s the opposite way. They tend to believe defeat is just a temporary setback. Its causes are confined to this one case.
Optimists tend to focus on and plan for the problem at hand. In other words, they most likely see a negative experience as a learning tool. Positive expectations of optimists also predict better reactions during transitions to new environments, sudden tragedies and unlikely turn of events. If they fall, they will stand up. They see opportunities instead of obstacles.
People Respond Positively to Optimists
Optimists are proactive and less dependent on others for their happiness. They find no need to control or manipulate people. They usually draw people towards them. Their optimistic view of the world can be contagious and can influence those around them. Optimism seems a socially desirable trait in all communities. Those who share optimism are generally accepted while those who spread gloom, panic and hysteria are treated unfavorably.
When the Going Gets Tough, Optimists Get Tougher
Optimists typically maintain higher levels of subjective well-being during times of stress than do people who are less optimistic. In contrast, pessimists are likely to react to stressful events by denying that they exist or by avoiding dealing with problems. Pessimists are more likely to quit trying when difficulties arise.
Optimists persevere. They just don’t give up easily, inching their way a step closer to that goal or elusive dream.
So why not be an optimist today?
