CHOOSE OPTIMISM, IT FEELS BETTER

Before fully getting into this topic, I wanted to make a clear perception of optimism. What is optimism? Optimism is positive thinking, looking at the positive side of every situation, good or bad. It doesn’t depend on the situation rather on the way a person thinks. An optimist understands that life can be a bumpy road, but at least it is leading somewhere. They learn from mistakes and failures, and are not afraid to fail again. Pessimism, compared to optimism is the exact opposite, its looking at the negative side of a situation and having negative expectations on what the future holds. A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Picture this scenario; an optimist gave an exam and got a good grade. Their reaction is that they’re happy and proud of the outcome and will strive for the same or better results the next time. While a pessimist may be satisfied with the result, they would think that they might not get the same results the next time or that they just got lucky. They underestimate themselves.

Now, if a person who’s positive gets a bad grade in an exam, they wouldn’t be that hard on themselves and would just want to try harder next time. But a pessimist would continue to underestimate and degrade him or herself.

I personally think that optimists are better at life generally than pessimists and there is more than one reason why I think we should choose optimism.

Some of them being:

• Optimists are happier: Optimism is needed to cope with difficult situations and having positive energy helps people do that without being hard on themselves. Generally optimists are happier with their lives than pessimists.
• They have better health: research suggests that most optimists have better health. They eat a healthy diet, do not smoke and are more likely to exercise regularly. Furthermore, they are less likely to have mental illnesses like depression or anxiety.
• They have a good influence on those around them: your company, the people you spend time with have a huge role on how you think. Having good company is very important. Optimism is contagious and having an upbeat attitude can inspire those around us. Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.
• They make good leaders: attitude is everything. Having positive people as leaders is very important because they can motivate the people and creates a positive team and is also important for having employees who are engaged in their work.
• They are expansive: being pessimistic prevents people from trying new things in their life while an optimist is always up for a challenge and motivate themselves to try new activities and hobbies.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.

Helen Keller

Written by: Fatima Amjad, 8C