Saturday, July 31, 2010

Keeping the Spirit of Optimism Alive (Part 1)


I have to thank my offline friend for the inspiration of this post. She sent me this message very early, one November morning in 2009 (I know it’s 2010 and yes, this is one of those long overdue posts I never seem to have time to finish till now. So please, don’t give me THAT look). Anyways:
Read this slowly: LIFEISNOWHERE

What did you read? Life is NOW HERE or Life is NOWHERE?

I read it as the former. Whew! Thank God, I made it this far. This only confirms that I am still a true blue optimist.

Life, indeed, depends on the perspective we choose to perceive it.

People ask me all the time how I manage to stay positive despite all the hardships and injustices of the world. Where do I get all the extra pluses that revitalize me like a character in a PSP game whenever I need an energy boost?

I say, (delivered in my best Miss Universe form and poise) that it all boils down to CHOICE. I believe it’s useless to worry and grieve over something I have totally NO control of. Why get stressed, wrinkled, hyper acidic and let it ruin my already magnificent life when I can bask in the sunshine, smell the flowers and choose to be happy?

Okay, so I’m not in a Miss Universe Pageant (doesn’t look like a contestant and never will be in one— not being negative but just being realistic here. I’m over 30, duh.) and I sound a bit exaggerated about my ‘already magnificent life’, but heck, that’s how I am projecting and embracing it to be– exponentially raised to the highest possible extremely positive power. After all, didn’t William Arthur Ward once say that “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it”?

I know it is always easier said than done, and it takes some time or even a lifetime to both master and muster enough positivity to achieve that mindset. Real life is nowhere near a fairytale and the worst of things DO happen to the best of us, which make optimism a lot harder— even impossible to do. And although we create our own destiny, still, we are not able to choose the situation we end up in most of the time. Some things are just destined to happen. It is just the way it is, according to our Master’s grand design called life.

BUT, we can always choose to make the BEST out of it. Can’t we?

Not many people realize that difficulties have a way of resolving itself in its own time without them, worrying over it. How many times did you agonize about a situation that you created purely on imagination? Unfounded, yet creatively weaved circumstances that you end up fearing at the end of the day? How many ‘what ifs’ steal your peace of mind and turn you into a nervous wreck? And when it comes, you get disappointed to discover that it wasn’t as bad as you imagined it to be.

How many opportunities did you lose because you were too afraid to try?

Some people unconsciously have the habit of bothering themselves nonsensically. What they do with their own time is actually, none of our business, but if we can only channel all the time wasted over worrying into a more positive activity, then maybe we can all help make this world a better place for everybody.

“Now, what? Since you seem to know a lot about this positive stuff?”

I can imagine you throwing that very question back at me. I would just like to make it clear that I’m no expert in this field— no doctorate degree or heavy credentials to back up my words. I’m just like you, who want to live life to the fullest. That’s why over the years I searched for ways to motivate myself to maintain an optimistic frame of mind. It is not easy, but just like everything else, it can also be done.

How?

I will share more about this in my next post: Keeping the Spirit of Optimism Alive (Part 2). In the meantime, smile, create happy thoughts and think positive! =)


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