Choose Optimism

If you expect something to turn out badly, it probably will. Pessimism is seldom disappointed. But the same principle also works in reverse. If you expect good things to happen, they usually do! There seems to be a natural cause-and-effect relationship between optimism and success. Optimism and pessimism are both powerful forces, and each of us must choose which we want to shape our outlook and our expectations. There's enough good and bad in everyone's life ample sorrow and happiness, sufficient joy and pain to find a rational basis for either optimism or pessimism. We can choose to laugh or cry, bless or curse. From which perspective do we want to view life? Will we look up in hope or down in despair?

It's all about our decision. I believe in upward look. I choose to highlight the positive and slip right over the negative. I am an optimist by choice as much as by nature. Sure, I know that sorrow exists. But when all is said and done, the good in life far outweighs the bad. An optimistic attitude is not a luxury; it's a necessity. The way you look at life will determine how you feel, how you perform, and how well you will get along with other people. Conversely, negative thoughts, attitudes, and expectations feed on themselves; they become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pessimism creates a dismal place where no one wants to live. Optimism doesn't need to be naive. You can be an optimist and still recognize that problems exist and that some of them are not dealt with easily. But what a difference optimism makes in the attitude of the problem solver! Optimism diverts our attention away from negativism and channels it into positive, constructive thinking. When you're an optimist, you're more concerned with problem-solving than with useless carping about issues.