Optimism-An Emotional Sunshine
In the words of G K Chesterton, “Optimism is the noble temptation to see too much in everything. The
cultivation of optimism must be acquired because life is worth living and you
get it only once.” There is no other habit which brings so much value to
life as that of always expecting that the best will happen. What is the difference between an optimist and a
pessimist? The former
thinks that the thorn has a rose; the latter laments that a rose has a thorn .The difference between the two
is in their attitude. The choice is yours - you can look at the tree which
gives cool shade or blame the shade because it is a mere shadow. In life the
optimist faces failure, criticism and frustration but he does not go under or wilts.
The pessimist is a misery-manufacturer who looks inward and
gets deeper into shady thinking. The world inside is crowded, dark and dingy
where sunshine cannot penetrate. He is in love with his own misery.
Self-centred, he is seldom happy. Nor can he make anyone else happy. His world
is congested and cluttered in which there is practically nothing joyful. No
wonder such a gloomy person is cut off from the world of enjoyment and pleasant
activities. The fact is that to live is to have a vast and wider variety of
experiences than is afforded by one’s own crippling experiences. This is where
the optimist thrives. He is so happily occupied with rich and various
happenings around him that the dark thoughts seldom intrude into his inner
world.
You may brush aside the saying, “Count your blessings.’ But
counting your blessings contributes in ample measure in achieving a positive
attitude. ‘See’ the beauty in a newly sprouted green leaf in spring. Hindsight
too helps. You have to discriminate and be judicious. Shakespeare’s words serve
as a guideline. He says, “Let’s not burden our remembrance with a heaviness
that’s gone.” Some invite gloom in their life by harping on unhappy incidents,
failures and blunted aspirations in life. These things add to mental and
emotional load. They do not lighten the burden. Be prudent. Be practical. Shed this extra luggage. The past
is dead. Bury it. Past memory can be a source of inspiration too. It can inspire one to optimistic actions. Multipliedactions combine into a syndrome and that is the attitude.
Whenever you face failure or fumbling, sit down, write a list of small successes you have achieved in the past and
tell yourself, ‘I have done it in the past. I can do it now
and in future, too.’
Look into the future. You have buried the past. Now build the
future. The ‘mantra’ is be better than yesterday. Just as the pessimist
manufactures his own misery, you, the optimist manufacture your own happiness.
There will be nodisappointment because you are acting in the way which helps
you achieve. And achievement raises the spirit. Hope is a powerful force which
brings things you want, just as despair and pessimism push them off.
Make ‘success’ your guide for life.
You do not know what the
future will bring forth. But why only think of disaster? POSITIVITY takes one
forward. This sets in motion a chain effort, a hold on some ideal, some
fundamental value which ups the spirit and makes one see the pink in life. It
is then that life itself looks up.
Positive thoughts generate light and hope, whereas negative thoughts will bring darkness and despair. If you deliberately think about pleasant thoughts of smiles and laughter, good humour, music and song and little happy things – your mind will be filled with sunshine, dispelling all brooding ones, hidden in the recesses of your mind. The situation does not make the man, the man makes the situation.
- Ms. Shalini Hamilton & Ms. Jincy Mathew
