There are Optimists and there are Pessimists. These are two completely opposite mentalities but which one is better?
You've probably all heard a pessimist say: "I'm not a pessimist I'm just a realist." They might say that being an optimist is just a case of being naive, fake, or lying to yourself, and that optimists should wake up and smell reality.
This approach to optimism is way off the mark.
An optimist does not say or think that everything will always go perfectly without challenges, the optimist has the mentality that no matter what happens, to make the best of it in spite of the challenges.
Optimists choose to focus on favorable outcomes instead of negative ones. These kind of people are so much more fun to be around simply because they're always happy. Why are they happy? They're happy because they choose to focus on things that make them happy!
Amazingly, even negative situations turn into positive ones for optimists because of their attitude and that is the key. It's an awesome thing to think that in every situation, no matter how bad, we can always control our attitude. The choice is ours.
See, we can't always control what happens around us but there is one thing we can control, which is our attitude. It would be ridiculous to complain about this and that which we can't control if we're not even making the most of what we can control, our attitude.
In the words of Harry S. Truman, "A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties."
The misunderstanding of what it means to be an optimist is unfortunate, because if pessimists were to have the experience of what it's like to live as an optimist they would never want to go back!
For pessimists or anyone who tends to be negative, I suggest that you do an experiment.
Be incredibly positive and optimistic for 1 short week. Just give it a try. You can even treat it as a stupid game if you want, just make sure that you really force yourself to stick to it for the full week so that you see its effect.
This means no complaining, ranting, or whining about things you can't control. No negative talk. Instead, think and talk positively and focus on solutions to problems instead of dwelling on the problems. Then, at the end of the week, if you don't like the way your life has changed, go ahead and resume your previous negative habits.
The transformation in one's life that this simple change of mindset can have is astonishing. Just always remember that in every situation we all have two simple options: to react positively or negatively.
It's always a choice. One option will lead to increased happiness, the other can only lead to unhappiness.
One final thought: imagine for a moment what the world would be like if everyone was always optimistic and positive.
