{"id":33795,"date":"2013-09-23T12:00:06","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T11:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=33795"},"modified":"2015-05-06T08:59:04","modified_gmt":"2015-05-06T07:59:04","slug":"optimism-is-your-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2013\/09\/optimism-is-your-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Optimism Is Your Choice"},"content":{"rendered":"
\""Optimism<\/a>

“Optimism is not something emotional. It\u2019s a very practical tool, a mindset. It\u2019s like a morning workout, an exercise.” – Photo Credits: eye0pener.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Mr. NO<\/b><\/p>\n

Before anything else, let me make my confession first:\u00a0I am a converted pessimist. Yes, been there, seen that.<\/p>\n

You calculate the situations, you run through it in your mind and immediately pin-point the weakest link, you know, the toughest part. And you know it\u2019s gonna turn out bad. It seems people around you just can\u2019t see the obvious, that\u2019s why they need your\u00a0realistic<\/i>\u00a0expertise. You spend time modeling it in your head and you can see why that particular idea wont work, or why this plan is a no go. Sounds familiar?<\/p>\n

Four things:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The patterns that you use to tell how the situation might turn out are\u00a0your<\/i>\u00a0patterns.<\/b>\u00a0These are your personal experiences that you\u2019ve accumulated throughout your life and that are now been projected by\u00a0you<\/i>\u00a0on\u00a0your<\/i>\u00a0future. It works lightning fast and it\u2019s almost unconscious process for your brain. Thing is, these patterns have nothing to do with the reality. What used to be your past doesn\u2019t have to be the future.\u00a0The world runs on it\u2019s own terms. Things might go the way you think, but they don\u2019t necessarily\u00a0have to<\/i>, and pay attention here, most of the time the situation unfolds differently.<\/li>\n
  2. It takes your emotional energy to run through the situations that might turn into a problem.<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0Your mind literally makes you live through moments that have not yet even happened! You waste a good deal of your nerve cells reflecting on things that don\u2019t exist.<\/li>\n
  3. \u00a0It blocks you from looking at a greater picture.<\/b>\u00a0When your brain does its trick hunting for possible difficulties,\u00a0you tag the entire situation \u2018bad\u2019 when you see the first possible problem in it. What your brain does is, it cuts off from the main highway at the first \u2018Trouble\u2019 sign. Instead of looking at how you can make things work, you start cycling around how this particular thing might spoil everything.<\/li>\n
  4. You reap the seed that you sow.<\/b>\u00a0The type of the energy or emotions that the situation stirs inside of you attracts the similar energy, people and situations from outside. Call it total voodoo, or evil eye, but you\u2019ve been warned, you magnet that very outcome that you think of. And at some point you\u2019ll find yourself surrounded by pessimists, which is no fun, believe me.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Now, to bang the final nail into a pessimist head, here are some stats that optimists are\u00a0healthier<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0live longer<\/i>.<\/p>\n

    Recent study:<\/i>\u00a0A 2012 Harvard School of Public Health study found that optimistic individuals had up to 50% less risk of having a first heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event than their less optimistic peers.<\/p>\n

    Mr. YES<\/b><\/p>\n

    No, they are not born that way. They are not those permanently happy sanguine types filled with endorphins up to the neck. They have the same body as yours. \u00a0As\u00a0Bottom Line Secrets<\/a>\u00a0puts it, \u201cTo some extent, that\u2019s true\u2014a person\u2019s brain tends to be wired either toward optimism or pessimism. But these tendencies are reinforced by mental habits.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Optimism is a Conscious Choice<\/b><\/p>\n

    In the words of\u00a0Dyan Diamond<\/a>, when something good happens to a pessimist, they often feel that it is somewhat random and it will not last. \u00a0When something less than loving happens to a pessimist, they often feel that it will last forever and that is just how life is.<\/p>\n

    When something less than loving happens to an optimist, they see it as simply a temporary thing.\u00a0 They may see it as just a small part of life, just a little hiccup.\u00a0 They will not take it personally.\u00a0 They understand that it will not last forever.<\/p>\n

    How you think is up to you.\u00a0 It\u2019s you who decide to choose optimism or pessimism.<\/p>\n

    Optimism is an Everyday Practice<\/b><\/p>\n

    Optimism is not something emotional. It\u2019s a very practical tool, a mindset.\u00a0It\u2019s like a morning workout, an exercise. It took you years to train your brain to look at the problems, now start training it to look at the opportunities. It takes time, but as they say, practice makes perfect.<\/p>\n