Optimism is so important to happiness, success and well being! When I embarked on my journey of redesigning my life, that is the first attribute I wished to gain, and for good reason! Solving problems is easier when we are optimistic and can see various options, so I decided to begin at the beginning, so that everything that followed would flow with less resistence to good fortune and solutions.
Interesting to note that my Webster�s Dictionary describes optimism as, �the doctrine or belief that good ultimately prevails over evil.� That phrase takes me back to the simple moral stories of my childhood: Robin Hood, La Belle et La B�te, Ivanhoe, Star Wars... did I not always wish to be on the side of good? Did not the stories always leave me feeling good inside? Is that partly what, deep inside, these stories are trying to teach us? And is it possible, that it is easier to be good and receive good in our lives, when we have the belief that good ultimately prevails? I think so.
But how do we cross over? We may have been raised in a family that did not expect good fortune, or we may have experienced hardships that colored our view of life and made it seem like a world where good does not always prevail and some of us are just not lucky.
I ceased being less interested in whether or not my beliefs were true, long ago. Does that sound crazy? Here was my reasoning: I discovered (partly from my philosophical, logic, and mathematical studies), that we can�t really prove, definitely, any belief... because any argument has to be built on the building blocks of some assumptions. We choose our assumptions, or initially gain them through our family or experiences, or perhaps disposition, but I think not the latter. Whether we view the world pessimistically or optimistically, is usually one of those building block assumptions in each person�s life.
After learning that we can�t prove our beliefs, I sought to reconsider what beliefs I had, based on how effective they were in my life... whether they made me feel happy, secure, confident, and their effect on my actions. I evaluated them based on how well they served me and society. And in some cases I found beliefs that did not serve, so I chose new beliefs and simply reminded myself that I was now of the new beliefs and not the old ones.
This worked surprisingly well. Some disadvantageous beliefs were more stubborn than others to replace, but I kept in mind why I was choosing the new belief and watched for moments when that belief or the old one would determine my action, statement, or view. I set a dog to guard the door, so to speak.
Optimism is one of those beliefs I chose. A scant three years ago, I sought to change my belief and habits from pessimistic to optimistic. Would those of you who have read my posts these past weeks say I have been largely successful? I think I have.
I was raised in a family which did not display optimism, one where my parents were depressed and critical. Seeing how detrimental negativity was in their own lives, I departed from their beliefs by choice, but found later, when tragedies struck my own life, that I was again looking at the world and my future through a pessimistic eye. I knew by then how detrimental pessimism could be in my own life, so I sought to change my belief, not based on what I felt was true, but based on what I felt would serve best, for the companions of Optimism are Happiness, Accomplishment, and Good Luck.
So here is how I advise myself whenever I wish to improve my optimism:
First: Affirm the commitment that you wish to become more optimistic. Like anything else we try to change, it is the strength of our desire and commitment that allows us to do it. If you feel only half-convinced at present that optimism is a good thing, take more time to consider the advantages and disadvantages of these different beliefs.
Second: Set a dog to guard the door. Look for occurrences in the day where pessimism or optimism come into play. You actually do not have to look far! In the next hour it will come into play several times. You will have thoughts about the future, thoughts about people, thoughts about your abilities, thoughts about your advantages or disadvantages at present, including how what you possess in material things is either lacking or an asset and you will make choices about where you place your focus. When you discover a matter when you can choose to be optimistic, rewrite your old view as a new, more positive one, or shift your focus onto a more positive subject. As you catch yourself noting that a glass is half-empty, note that it is also half-full, and that is a good thing. With each fork in the road, allow good to prevail over evil.
Third: Start asking yourself as a matter of habit, �How would an optimistic person act in this situation?� Allow yourself to experiment with acting in accordance with optimistic beliefs for a while, and start noting the advantages that flow towards you with these actions. A person who does not believe they will be hired, will not apply for better jobs. A person who does not believe they can have a wonderful relationship, may not seek to know new people. A person who does not believe in their own abilities,
...for example, the ability to write and publish a good book (hahaha)... will not bother to sit down to write! So play with this new belief by allowing your actions to reflect optimism.
Fourth: Seek to find advantages even in disadvantages and adversity. Every single event in our lives, even the most difficult ones, bear advantages if we use our minds to find them. And I don�t mean just lessons like, �Well, I learned never to do that again!� There are other advantages than just lessons, so look for them. You might have taken a new direction and met new people. You might have lost one partner, but were then free to find a far better one, or expand your personal completeness. You may have experienced a tragedy, but gained strength and abilities because of it, so make the most of these new abilities and find ways to put them into play more often.
Fifth: Practice shifting your focus from dwelling on negative musings to dwelling on positive musings. Past events we can�t change. We can, however, cease to give them as much importance and instead dwell longer on good things.
Sixth: Allow optimism to guide you to a sense of humor about life�s events and your self. Seek to relax into the cradling arms of life, with the belief that you will rise to the top, like cream comes to the surface.
So these are a few of the ways I�ve learned to welcome optimism into my life. The list is by no means complete, so I hope you will contribute your own to this thread, as well as share your own experiences between pessimism and optimism.
I optimistically believe, that together we can make this one of the biggest, most positive and lively threads in this section!
the glass is 100% FULL... it's half filled with water, and half filled with air! 
