Is It Beneficial To Be Optimistic?
Keeping an optimistic outlook is anything but a weakness.
In today’s society, we have a lot of ugly, unpleasant things that get our attention. Further, we are frequently told that it is important that we “be realistic”, and keep low expectations. Keep your head down, go to work, do the things, go home.
Dreamers are often scorned or shunned for believing that there is more to this life. We frequently look at people with a sunny disposition or optimistic outlook as being flaky, out-of-touch, and otherwise wacky.
Without people seeing a better world, we would not have the world we live in today. Long, long ago the human beings on this planet were concerned only with survival. Like every other animal, we sought shelter, sustenance, and a means to propagate the species.
Eventually, human beings ceased to be hunter/gathers, and moved towards an agricultural society. We never left behind the basic necessities, but we did change how we lived. The nature of our ability to think beyond simple survival set us apart. Further, unlike the other animals on planet Earth, we have the ability to adapt to any climate, any geographical zone. We do not rely on the hair of our bodies for warmth, we can devise other means and use simple and complex tools.
In a relatively short span of time, we went from disconnected, worldwide groups broken by religion and nation and other artifices, to being hyper-connected globally. I can grab the iPhone off my desk, and call someone on the other side of the planet instantly. You can read these words I write from anywhere in the world thanks to the internet.
To get to the world we live in today, someone, somewhere, was optimistic about a thing others called impossible. Anyone, anywhere can do this too.
Being optimistic opens us to possibility.
Simply put, like I wrote about in Monday’s Positivity post, if we allow skepticism and cynicism to overwhelm us, we yield our ability to create. If we become too doubtful and disbelieve too readily, we lose the connections we have to the Universe at large. We become enmeshed in the reality around us.
The thing is, even the greatest minds in history have told us that reality is what we make it. If we go ahead and accept a reality we are less-than-happy with, we are going to get more of what we don’t want. The Law of Attraction tells us that Like attracts Like. When we look at the dark side of the world, ever notice how we find more and more to feel negative about?
If we allow ourselves to be inundated with all the negativity out there, it’s really really hard to feel optimistic about the present, let alone the future. Social media is rife with stories about out-of-control politicians, terrorists, and people being denied rights and equal treatment based on gender, religion, skin color, societal position and whatnot.
When we see a world in pain, and so many people being made to suffer in so many different ways, it’s challenging to be optimistic. And if that were not enough, we frequently scorn those who are.
If you are dissatisfied with the world as it is today, do you want to just accept it? Or would you rather find a way to improve it? Optimism opens us to possibility. It gives us fuel to believe that we can do better, create greater things, and change the world.
Without being open to possibility, we would not have the world we have today. We’d either be like the rest of the animal kingdom, or otherwise far less advanced.
Optimistic viewpoints can change the world for the better.
I recently reviewed an old journal I was keeping. What did I find? When I was negative about my life, depressed, frustrated, uncertain and indecisive, I was not an optimistic person. At my greatest depth, I believed in optimistic ideals like the general good of people and the possibility for greater peace and understanding across the world. Yet I lived in doubt and disbelief, even with evidence to the contrary.
But then I saw a shift in my consciousness. The negative entries took on a new tone. Suddenly, it was brighter, more optimistic. I was looking more at possibility and my own ability to consciously create reality. I was shifting my conscience towards a stronger belief in possibility.
Pathwalking started over six years ago in part to keep a New Years’ Action, and in part to explore consciousness creating reality and manifesting a life I desire to live. I saw a great deal of improvements in my life, and overall, found that walking my own path made me happier and more content.
Then I saw the world around me seemingly go mad. A narcissistic, unqualified realty TV star somehow became President, and the party he used to get there began to destroy long-standing institutions in the name of greed, self-interest, and the good of the money. Gaps were widened, divisions pulled further apart in order to grasp onto power. It is disheartening, distressing, and before I knew it, it took me back where I used to be.
My optimism was lost. I returned to being skeptical, cynical, and letting the daily barrage of news impact my emotional state. Despite blogging about awareness and conscious reality creation weekly, I allowed my subconscious to seize on the negative, and my optimism faded to the far background again.
Time to reclaim optimism through awareness.
Now that I see my optimistic viewpoint faded back, I have the ability to reclaim it. Consciousness creates reality, and I can use my awareness to find optimism again. I can stop letting myself become overwhelmed by the negativity so prevalent in the world today. I can let my optimism about the ability to make a better world come forward.
A little bit of skepticism is good for critical thinking. But only a little. Being optimistic that it can be better, and that we can make it so gives us the tools to change the world. I dislike feeling down, depressed, and hopeless. Maybe I’m a romantic, maybe I dream too big…but I believe I am worthy and deserving of all of it, and so I would rather strive to improve than accept what is without question.
Believe that we can make ourselves better. If that’s the case, then we can also make our world better. It is not selfish to want to live a better life. When we are aware of what we are thinking, how we are feeling, and the actions we take from there, we can manifest almost anything.
Can you see the benefits of being optimistic?
This is the three-hundred twenty-fourth entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas for, and my personal experiences with, walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world along the way.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available here.
After more than 6 years of Pathwalking, I have launched a Patreon to garner support for these works, and more.
