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| On optimism |
| Thursday, March 29, 2007 |
One day crying my eyes out for something really silly even by my standards, the title on the book I was staring cleared up from being blurred from my tears.
"The Power of Optimism" it said. I had owned this book for over two years, carried it wherever I moved but had not bothered to open it and read a page. On a lighter note, thats why I get books I find interesting or like, even though I might not get to reading it immediately, some day in the future, it would serve its purpose, I will definitely get to it.
I read a page of it, and my head cleared up. In a few minutes, I was asking DH, "Why am I crying for something so silly as this? What is the problem in my life? Why can I not be happy?" Food for thought eh?
Often times I have noticed and experienced personally too, that the high achievers, are seldom 'happy' with their lives. While the regular normal people even though they are not extraordinary lead a happy life. The key I think is contentment.
I am not sure if this is true, but I have found women to be great worriers. Worry never gets you anywhere. Worry only increases the stress level. Worry only means less confidence.
If I worry it means I am afraid to take charge of the situation and change the outcome. It shows my inability to change or to get accustomed. Worry is a reaction to situation. We need to be proactive to change the situation. When things cannot be changed by your action, then there is no point worrying about it in the first place.
And so the book went on to introducing the traits of optimists. Some are natural optimists, they are lucky. But most, need to learn to be optimists.
So after finishing the book in a couple of weeks, in 30 minute sessions in the gym while on the elliptical, I tried to put it to practice.
It worked for a few days. Really.
Then disaster stuck. It is easier to be optimistic when things are all right and normal. It is more difficult when things arent normal. But atleast my rebounce time has decreased greatly, thanks to the book.
Optimism is all about seeing the good in everything, even in not so good situations. It is about learning from failures and taking on more challenges as opposed to giving up quickly. It is about being cheerful even in not so happy times. Basically I think it should be a way of life.
I was watching Guru for the second time at home, I knew I had to own it the day I saw it first, and it stuck me as to why I liked the character of Guru so much. He is such an optimist. He is not only confident but also boosts the confidence of everyone around him who interact with him. He is not deterred by failures. He just goes on marches forward with determination. Of course, I will conveniently ignore the morale issues and business mind of his, it doesnt concern me.
I know too much philosophy for a week day. |
posted by SK @ 10:25 PM  |
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| 3 Comments: |
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Very nice post. Good to read in the morning. Thanks!
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:-) - I agree optimism helps in being happy - because that way, you are convinced that anything which seems bad is a) happening for a good reason or b) will certainly improve!
But I am not sure about high achievers being less happy than 'normal' people or 'normal' people being happier. Both groups of people will have their own sources of griping - ultimately how happy a person is depends on their attitude towards life more than anything else.
Good luck towards putting optimistic principles into practise :-) - I sure need the luck to make a change at any rate :-)!
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J,
:--))
Arch,
hehe yes we do need the luck. :--)
Regarding my note about the high achievers, I guess I cannot generalize but what I meant what most nobel prize winners and really gifted artists have spent a miserable life not enjoying life. Not all, but a significant number.
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Very nice post. Good to read in the morning. Thanks!