Optimism

OPTIMISM, it is such a precious thing, isn’t it? Such a rare thing too in a seemingly complicated world like ours. So, why is optimism important? Optimism isn’t just a wild belief in the occurrence of a favorable event or situation. It’s not a roll of dice. I would like to relate optimism to hope. In my modest opinion hope is the mother of any quality worth possessing. Without hope, you can’t have courage, without hope, you can’t leverage your will power in your battles, without hope there is no point. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration if we say hope is the supporter of life. It’s the invisible mask that covers every realm of life without which we would miserably suffer a slow death, not literally though, filled with agony and pain. But, say we are interested just in our seemingly non-trivial rat-race, one may ask how good is optimism?

The truth is optimism is everything, especially in this suffocating culture of a race towards a better future. I strongly believe optimism is the key game changer in one’s life. In a world filled with overpopulated social networks, and a myriad of opinions and cases shot at us at a pace higher than the computing speeds of the largest computers out there, it is easy to lose track of the core ideas and dreams we had since our childhood. I would like to think that we are optimists by our very own human nature. We expect the best so that it gives us motivation which turns into energy which becomes the ability to perform a task. Now, say, you don’t agree with the above statements. Fine, but do you think there are any disadvantages in having optimism? The disadvantage many people I talked to present, is that if we expect so much and got so little, we’d have to suffer emotional wreckage, instead if we choose to expect the worst and still get the same little result, we’d be happy. Now, if you are thinking the same, there are two things that you need to consider or think about. One is competence vs complacency. Competence is the root of improvement. Competence pushes us beyond heights we never even think about. When we are optimistic, simultaneously we are embracing competence. Whereas pessimism can be in some sense the mother of complacency. Two is reading too much in between the lines. Optimism never plays the double game by saying not to prepare for the worst and die in the face of adversity. It only says expect the best. That kind of an attitude tunes our minds, the subconscious to think only about the best. The rigidity that people show in not settling for anything less than the best, it is not a standalone idea, it is heavily backed and tuned by careful optimism. Now, the emotional wreckage? This isn’t even a question worth asking because one who fears emotional damage fears life itself. Strength cannot be built by running away from the tough challenges rather strength is built by running over those tough challenges and screaming proudly that it is another challenge that tried to break me but I survived, came out on top, stronger with a better conviction and with a stronger belief in a better future.

Nobody in their right mind would love to be controlled. Now, in our daily life, we have many variables and control to a pessimist is only an illusion. But, to an optimist that chaos is also a form of power. An optimist rather than leaving life to the will of the world would strive to exert his/ her own will onto the world. Now, of course, one might always criticize that thinking in this line we may only fantasize but it’s not always plausible. I assure you that no successful person would ever suggest you think small only within the boundaries of the real world possibilities. What you do after you think, depends on your will power, but the starting point to a change is optimism, hope. It’s all in the mind. And optimism is the ignitor, without which no great achievement worth remembering is ever made. Our appreciation of optimism increases when we choose to strongly believe that success is no accident. It is not neatly packed and handed to us by life. If we want it, we need to work for it and get it. If we believe in this, then optimism becomes our only resort at any point in life.