Insights:BE OPTIMISTIC IN LIFE

Life is a journey starting from birth to death of every individual. This journey is not a smooth path for all. Everybody faces some ups and downs, some hindrances and troubles for variable times during this journey. But different people view these difficulties differently.  Some   regard life and its problems negatively and become sad whereas some persons   see good things and remain cheerful.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Life is a journey starting from birth to death of every individual. This journey is not a smooth path for all. Everybody faces some ups and downs, some hindrances and troubles for variable times during this journey. But different people view these difficulties differently.  Some   regard life and its problems negatively and become sad whereas some persons   see good things and remain cheerful.

The   Oxford English Dictionary   defines optimism as having "hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something; a tendency to take a favourable or hopeful view." The word is originally derived from the Latin optimum, meaning "best." Being optimistic, in the typical sense of the word, ultimately means one expects the best possible outcome from any given situation. The concept of optimism is often linked by philosophers to the view of Gottfried   Wilhelm   Leibniz   that this world is the best place to live in.   An optimistic person is the one who regards everything around in a positive way. If there are 2 sides to a situation, he always looks towards the positive side.  He thinks this world to be the best place to live in. The present day is considered to be the best by him. He looks forward to another day and lives each day happily. He is confident of achieving success and the fact that his life will improve in future.  If there is a problem, he takes it also in a positive way.
His thinking would be such, "thank God, things have stopped here, it could have been worse”. Those who are optimistic and strong minded as well, they consider each problem coming their way as a challenge.  They immediately start thinking of plans as to how to overcome this problem. If no solution is possible, then they regard the issue philosophically as destined or as   wish of God. But in no way they let the problem overshadow their happiness or cheerfulness.

This kind of attitude keeps one always happy and cheerful and surely gives success as result. An optimistic person may not reach the top for various reasons but he certainly finds a place for himself near the top, above the crowd below. Moreover, his cheerful positive attitude gives inspiration to other people who otherwise feel gloomy or depressed.

An optimistic person will always remain physically as well as mentally healthy because he will not have unnecessary worries or depression    which damages   the health of a person.

Therefore it is advisable for people to be optimistic in their outlook towards life. It is difficult but not impossible to inculcate the habit of always being optimistic.  One only has to practice looking at the other brighter side of an issue. Instead   of saying,   ‘Oh God! It is day”, one should learn to say, "thank God it is day.”

An individual should be having a dream or ambition to fulfil in life. That gives a motivation to work hard and find the right path to move forwards.  But along with it one should also be realistic. While putting in hard work and waiting for results, one should also    know his limitations and where he stands   in his field. This itself removes any   unnecessary expectations and resultant disappointments on part of the person.  Whatever is the outcome of his work, he should look at the brighter side that it is not as worse as it could be. Meanwhile he should make efforts for correcting the mistakes and making things better.

At the individual level also, one should learn to think positively about himself, family and friends. This kind of attitude keeps relations good and healthy.

Being optimistic also makes one courageous automatically. An optimistic person takes calculated risks in his life which pave the way for betterment. A   person who is afraid of taking risks will also lose out, climbing on the ladder.

Therefore it is important to remain optimistic in life, for betterment of self.

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