Optimism is an essential quality embraced by the grateful.
Emotion has a way of sneaking up on even the most organized person. Those with a steady mindset and successful perspective can derail at the mere mention of tragedy or hardship. Yet the power of emotion is in every conceivable way related to your success. It’s through these feelings you relate to others. It’s with emotion you’re able to empathize and properly communicate a well-crafted response.
Still, not all emotions are simple. The reaction they generate within you can vary, ranging from a hateful bout of ugly comments to a carefully constructed response to a critic’s constructive comments.
Emotions that threaten you can trigger overwhelming stress – Jeanne Segal.
Such emotions include anger, fear, anxiety, sadness – the list goes on. These emotions have a significant place in your life. Why? Because they are needed when life gets tough. After all, you can’t face a tragedy with a smile and a high-pitched giggle. People would think you’ve forgotten how to be human. Or, perhaps worse, they may think you’ve simply gone nuts.
And what good would that be?
Optimism: The Everyday Emotional Response
The significance of optimism goes without saying. It is the best, most easily practiced emotion one can utilize in almost any everyday situation. Work environments, classrooms, social outings – optimism is contagious. It travels via smile or laughter. It can transcend even the dreariest situation with merely a well-placed compliment or joke.
The overall impact of positivity is clear. Without optimism, life would be a long, tragic process. One would face the aftermath of tragedy with no clear sign of a brighter day. Each hardship would feel even harder than the last. Every single inkling of brightness would melt with each impending mention of consequence.
Let’s consider an example.
Susan began Monday disgusted. Upset with her job, angry with her spouse, she woke up late. She grabbed a coffee at a local coffee joint, but it was cold when she was able to take her first real sip. Fuming, she got to work tired and hungry while negativity loomed above her.
Because Susan was late, she missed the morning team meeting. Then, her boss called her into his office. He informed Susan that her performance as of late wasn’t quite hitting the mark. If she were to remain employed at XY Company, she would need to make improvements – quickly.
Susan spent her entire day wallowing in the cloud of toxicity she herself emitted into the environment.
She did not take the time to understand the criticism she received. Rather than considering how she could make her day better, Susan sat in that negativity for the rest of the workday. At the day’s end, she spent her evening the same way: quiet, reserved, and pessimistic. Her husband wanted nothing to do with her.
The house that night was eerily quiet, the air stifled by toxicity.
Consider how Susan’s day might have been if she had embraced optimism.
Sure, her day may have started in a negative space. We all experience those days. A cold coffee and a late start would put anyone in a panic. A mid-morning performance review with less than ideal criticism would make anyone lose their cool.
Yet Susan could have responded differently.
Rather than continuing the day a negative nancy, she could have taken her employer’s review for what it was: professional, constructive criticism. She could have spent the rest of her day detailing her performance for the past few months, figuring out what she has been missing. Susan could have found a way to make herself perform better.
But this could have only been done with optimism; with a controlled emotional response and a willingness to make light of a potentially dark situation.
Don’t end up like Susan.
As it is, life is finite. You have no way of knowing when the end of the line will loom before your eyes. You aren’t a psychic, fortune-teller, or some being with supernatural powers. You are a human being – an extraordinary, average Joe with the capability of doing great things. A soul with the innate ability to change the world. But this cannot be accomplished if you feign to realize life’s significance.
Tweet ThisWhile you may not be capable of seeing the future, you can help a good, worthy path be realized. This ability doesn’t require anything extraordinary. It merely calls for good, old-fashioned optimism.
4 Ways to Build Yourself Up
– Remember What Matters
When your life falters, you will, too. Your positivity will take a brief turn towards the worse. You may reach for a support beam lost to a significant quake. But consider what matters more – what was once available to you or your ability to now move forward without a crutch.
Nothing is worse than losing something important. But in all likelihood, what was lost is not nearly as important as what is currently pushing you forward. Material loss can always be replaced. Tragic, personal loss can be made better with the acknowledgement that you are still surrounded by people who matter.
Stay optimistic when life derails. Remember what truly matters in your life.
– Surround Yourself With Positivity You Wish to Emulate
Often, people disregard this point until further into adulthood than they care to admit. Positivity isn’t a quality easily embraced. Those emotions that trigger stress are sometimes much easier to grab hold of.
People feel they can relate on a personal level to others griping about similar problems. But consider how healthy that type of relationship is. Consider how unprogressive a purely negative circle would be. How would you ever gain enough momentum to step forward if your close friends were only capable of holding you back?
Find the people who evoke optimism. Search for those who entertain ambition and success with a clear positive outlook; a decisive mindset towards a better future. While you are in control of your own life, every bit of encouragement helps.
Surround yourself with the positivity you wish to emulate in your own life. In doing so, a breath of fresh air will be breathed back into your life. You will only further your personal success.
– Remind Yourself of the Good in Life
A little reminder goes a long way. It’s easy to get lost in the sea of petty troubles. Glancing towards the bigger picture is never as simple as a life-long optimist likes to promote.
In regards to positivity, you are your own worst enemy. You are the one thing standing in your way. You are the only being capable of reaching past the irksome troubles, the defining tragic moments, and the hardships that culminate in tragedy.
Remind yourself of all the good your life entails. Remember all you hold dear, all the moments that can only be described with pure bliss. Each opportunity you embraced that led to a welcoming turning point in your life. Recall all the good you have experienced and the good you’ve witnessed in others.
Optimism isn’t such a hard thing to master once you’ve remembered all the good that encompasses this world.
– Stop Forgetting Your Own Significance
Don’t lose sight of yourself. You are the one person that should be of utmost importance in your life. Yes, caring for others is a quality you should embrace. Taking the time to help others achieve their own success in a healthy, motivational manner is an experience you will be happy you had.
But your life matters, too.
You can’t live a wholly optimistic life if your significance is lost. If you can’t view yourself for who you are, you will never build yourself up. You will never embrace a positive perspective.
Your life is just as significant as that of another. And it should be important to you. Don’t let your perspective of yourself falter because you feel negativity can’t be overcome. You can’t let a pessimistic view disrupt your own importance.
Embrace Optimism – Your Life Depends On It
The variety of emotions you experience are each significant in their own way. Fear and anxiety have their own relevant place in your life. Negativity is necessary in order to pave the way for something greater. Yet optimism is the key to a successful life.
Without positivity, your goals will never be met.
Allowing yourself the opportunity to see the bigger picture is necessary. Embrace optimism. Don’t stop when life feels as though it’s derailing in front of you.
You are the creator of your own life. Let positivity surge you forward towards the future you know you deserve.
