There is no doubt that I’m an optimist, since I always see
the glass as half full and myself as happy. Yet, I am also a
realist. I tend to notice the doughnut and never see the hole.
I not only see the bright side of other people’s problems, I
even see the bright side of my own; and, at times, that can be
difficult. In doing so, I either ignore the difficult situation or devote my
efforts to finding a solution.
To me, everything is a learning experience. I try to discover something
new every day, even if some days I find that what I learned yesterday
was wrong. Like Thomas Edison, who did not consider his attempts to
make the light bulb a failure but, instead, declared that he had found
over 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb, I will try and try again in
the firm belief that eventually something will work. When all my
efforts are unsuccessful, I don’t despair. I blithely declare that I am sure
I learned something valuable in the process that will be helpful in the
future.
As I have progressed through life, I have continually found that
some of the most fortunate places I have landed were preceded by
detours that seemed disastrous at the time. My lifelong “can-do” attitude
was, unquestionably, inherited from my parents, who fortunately for me,
were “dyed-in-the-wool” optimists who believed that one day I would
find the same happiness in life that they had. Long before singer Bobby
McFerrin, they encouraged me by saying, “Don’t worry, be happy.”
At times, I even question my optimism and wonder if I am a foolish
proponent of the doctrine that “black” is “white” and vice versa.
However, when that happens, I consciously remind myself of all
the positive things in my life and how many of them did not start out
that way.
I work on what I can control and forget about what I have no control
over, such as other people. Obviously, the difficult part is deciding
what is within my control and what is not. At times, I’m amazed by
how much I have no control over. But often, a different approach
or just pure repetition will bring about results that I never expected
were possible. This may occur due to my optimism, as I attack
problems head on, even though it appears to others to be useless. Thus,
optimism makes me much more persistent in my pursuit of goals.
Optimism is a powerful attitude that can make the
difference in much of what happens in life. It gives me the ability to
believe that all will be well and that if I don’t get precisely what
I want, I’ll surely want what I get instead. True happiness may,
in fact, be learning to want what you get. Or, in simpler terms,
it may be that it makes no difference if your glass is half full or half
empty, as long as you have some good wine in it. Drink up – life is
wonderful.
I’m not myself today and everybody has noticed the improvement 21