Like many life skills, optimism doesn’t come as easily as it did when we were 20. Optimism is an exercise we can practice. We can attain it — and maintain it — if we put in the effort and keep our sights on a better future.
Optimism is a positive, empowered frame of mind while contemplating times to come (“Let’s do this!”) Pessimism is a negative, helpless outlook (“It’ll never work. Don’t even try.”) Optimism and youth often go hand-in-hand, because that’s when time, energy and ambition are on our side. Over time, disappointments and setbacks come, relationships and health fail, loved ones die. Suddenly, our options seem limited. Our hopes fade.
But hope and optimism can be renewed. Springtime is the ideal season to shake off stagnant wintry thinking and regain a fresh perspective. Restoration, refreshment and rejuvenation can be cultivated if you plant the seeds of optimism.
MOVE FORWARD
Dr. Ronald J. Morrison is in the practice of pushing back against despair. As senior pastor of Hope Alliance Bible Church in Maple Heights, he serves an inner-city community where poverty, poor education, unemployment, homelessness and violence prevail.
From the pulpit and also as executive director of community development corporation Alliance for Family Hope, Inc. (AFH), he instills hope in people. The goal is to transform the communities in Southeast Cleveland, reversing the pattern of deterioration and instability. With educate, encourage and enrich as its guiding principles, the AFH provides educational, enrichment, mentoring and vocational programs for disadvantaged and at-risk youth “to become productive citizens, well educated, deeply encouraged, and enriched beyond their wildest imaginations.”
Morrison says that optimistic people like himself keep an eye on the future, which helps them get through the difficulties of the present. Their optimism is founded on a belief that the best days are yet to come.
“People around us are hurting, and need to be encouraged,” he says. “I want to be the kind of person that can be a healthy and encouraging influence to everyone I meet.” Instead of slowing down in his sixth decade, Morrison works with a sense of urgency.
“Changing seasons remind us of the passing of time. We cannot procrastinate and still have the opportunities to do meaningful and important things,” he says. “Each spring should remind us of a different season of life, and a window of time to start something new that will be meaningful and satisfying. It’s like waking up each day with another chance to make a difference. When the earth brings forth the buds and sprouts that will soon be full of life, from the earth that was in previous weeks cold and hard, we should be invigorated to spring into action and get involved with whatever activities are meaningful and available.”
While the minister’s outlook is spiritual, it also reflects the principles of fulfillment from a psychological point of view.
A FULFILLING LIFE CAN NURTURE OPTIMISM
It’s not happiness we should be seeking, but “a life of well being,” according Martin Seligman, founder of positive psychology. He says positive emotion is only one part of the fulfillment puzzle, along with engagement with what you do, a sense of accomplishment and good relationships.
Inevitably, the pressures of life can get discouraging. How can we lift ourselves out of the dumps and get back to our happy place?
Morrison advises, “Get to the root of a problem to find the right solution. One of my favorite mood-changing lessons comes from King David in the Psalms. He asks himself, ‘Why is my soul cast down and why is my soul/spirit anxious and disturbed?’ He acknowledges being troubled and down, but he’s not going to stay in his spiritual depression.”
Morrison says that if we focus too long inwardly, we get depressed and discouraged by our problems, challenges and limitations. Change your focus. “If I focus on His ability, rather than my lack of abilities, I regain my inner peace and joy.”
APPRECIATE THE POSITIVE
Ellin Andrews, 69, is that picture of positivity. She teaches and tutors English at Lorain County Community College and co-owns and operates an alpaca farm in Vermillion called Abundant Blessings. She also rescue dogs and cats that are disabled, old and unwanted.
Single with no children, Andrews has endured the deaths of her beloved mother and sister, and has survived breast cancer and heart dis- ease. She could feel despondent, but she chooses not to.
“Every day is a blessing,” she says. “Appreciate what you have. Don’t focus on what you don’t have. Whatever you have or don’t have, make do with it. Each day is a new canvas for you to create something beautiful. Don’t wait for things to happen. Stay active, get around young people, keep learning and do something new. It can be scary. You can face heartbreak. But it’s exhilarating, and you come away with lessons learned.”
Formerly a businesswoman in McDonald’s management and an owner of Sylvan Writing Center franchises, Andrews lives out the underlying principle in the selfhelp novel “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” by author Stephen Covey. Take responsibility. You can choose to be miserable or choose to be happy.
Ever the optimist, Andrews doesn’t fear the future. “I’m slowing down, but I can still unload a truck full of hay. When I get tired, I sit and rest. Then I go on.”
WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT PESSIMISM, ANYWAY?
“I am prepared for the worst but hope for the best.” This wisdom coined by British Prime Minister and novelist Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) isn’t just practical advice while facing an oncoming tornado; it’s a recommended approach for your mental health, according to modern psychologists.
Runaway optimism can set you up for a hard fall once the storms of life come, according to Psychology Today.
Positive thinking advocates believe that pessimism creates gloomy, dreary, sad-sack losers. But that’s painting with too broad a brush stroke. Successful people often use pessimism strategically to motivate and prepare themselves for the future, recent research indicates.
It’s simply false that optimism is “good” and pessimism is “bad.” Rather, both are functional; both have value. Optimism and pessimism both help us manage our expectations and actions while we move forward into a hopeful future.
‘Rational optimism’ is now advised, where an optimistic outlook is tempered by an acknowledgment that unwanted outcomes are within the realm of possibility. Pessimism can assist us in managing our feelings. By spinning down expectations (“I probably won’t get this award/promotion/hot date”), it insulates us from crushing disappointment when things don’t go our way.
The key is to continue to move forward. Don’t allow negative thoughts or fear about the future stop you in your tracks. Push back against perceived helplessness, using a pinch of pessimism as a motivational tool. You can preempt possible negative outcomes with creative mitigation plans that cushion your future with “insurance” for the best possible outcome.
Well aware that pessimism can be paralyzing when the storms of life come, Disraeli also says, “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.” Keep pessimism in its place as you spring forward into an optimistic future.
