The word optimism has its origins in the Latin word Optimus, which means 'best.' That's pretty accurate. Optimists are always looking out for the best in others, the best in every situation and always expecting a fantastic future.
”The optimist invented the airplane, the pessimist the parachute." - George Bernard Shaw
If necessity is the mother of invention, optimism is its caffeinated father. I've seen some great and impressive things over the years and during my travels. Among most of the people who achieve great things and create incredible works is that common thread of optimism -- a boundless energy driven by positivity.
No one begins a worthwhile project without the seed of optimism. Why would anyone start anything if they knew it would fail?
Optimism has created things like smart phones and computers, televisions and automobiles, great works of art and fascinating fictions. Optimism encourages people to begin families, to make positive changes that help them grow, to sign that lease on a new storefront and to send men to the moon.
Looking for the silver lining is a constant practice.
Even if you have described yourself as a pessimist in the past, you can learn to look for the positive.
And here's how:
For one, stop blaming yourself for everything that you are not responsible for. Then, stop blaming others for things that you deserve the blame for. When we take the yoke of responsibility, it brings with it a sense of agency and control that we can't have when we blame the world for our misfortune.
It’s a matter of health.Optimism actually reduces stress. Studies have proven that optimism promotes the production of Dopamine.
Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules, puts it into perspective as he describes that dopamine begins to fade as we age - beginning in our thirties. Dopamine is actually responsible for our happiness, spikes our motivation and is even responsible for that courage to take risks.
Medina says “Insert the key into the lock, and the car springs to life.... Dopamine is a big deal.”
Dedicate yourself to focusing on the good - in all things and at every moment. If you really pay attention, you'll discover a great deal of good going on around you.
It's natural for humans to focus on the negatives -- it's how we've stayed alive for so damn long. But nowadays, when mere survival isn't the only thing on our plates and we've grown more socially and mentally complex, we've got to give ourselves a break.
Showering the negative with attention invariably attracts more of it into your life. The law of attraction isn't some spacey universe theory in this case. Instead of the universe making you attract bad or good, think about it the other way. When your thoughts gravitate toward negativity or positivity, your subconscious is attracted to things that supply it with proof that it's right. Think negative, live negative.
If you want to start attracting more of the good into your life, start focusing on that more.
When your thoughts gravitate toward negativity or positivity, your subconscious is attracted to things that supply it with proof that it's right.
Practice gratitude daily. If you don’t already, now’s a great time to start keeping a gratitude journal. I get that we're all busy, but nobody is too busy for five minutes.
Steal five minutes out of every day to write down what you're grateful for. It will change your whole world. Work your way up from three daily to ten daily. If you think it sounds too tough -- don't worry. When you get into the habit, you'll have to stop yourself from overloading every page.
I often hear people way they are cautiously optimistic. STOP THAT! Be blatantly optimistic and watch everything start to change.
Optimism is at the heart of every dream, of every first step, of every multi-billion dollar company that started in a garage and even to man walking on the moon. So why not make the change and stick with positivity?
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