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Optimism vs. Pessimism

By Scott Fusco | September 10, 2007

Photo by Colin Cochrane, UK

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If you have not read the post about how thoughts create reality then you should do that first since I use optimism vs. pessimism as an example to demonstrate how your thoughts create reality.

To expand on that earlier post, I want to mention what an important shift it is to shift your thinking from one of pessimism to one of optimism. It is easily one of the most important shifts that anyone can make in their life.

Here are some words that resonate with optimism: expectation, trust, faith, knowing, feel good, gratitude, good, abundant, free.

Here are some words that resonate with pessimism: doubt, lack, distrust, feel bad, non-appreciative, bad, limited, cautious.

As I explained in my post about how your thoughts create reality, it is pretty clear that your thoughts and beliefs are utilized to filter your perceptions by both your conscious and unconscious mind. If you believe this, and you should because psychologists have been saying so for years, then the choice you have to make is whether or not you want your life to resonate with the words in the first sentence or the words in the second sentence.

The bottom line is that there is just no reason to have your life surrounded by the negative emotions in the second sentence. If your perceptions are subjective, which they are, then you might as well use them in a way that benefits you emotionally.

Think about this logically for a minute. What do you gain by thinking negatively about the world? What benefit does it have on you financially, emotionally, spiritually, etc.? There of course is no benefit. You move through the world angry and expecting more disappointment.

Now let’s say that you legitimately view the world as pessimistic. You are just calling it how you see it, how it has been in your life, etc., and in your opinion life is more negative than positive. If this is the case, then that is your current reality and that is ok. However, I want to challenge you in a way that you may have never challenged yourself before. I want you to ask which would be more beneficial to your life, regardless of which you see as “true” about the world.

Would it be more beneficial to think positively or to think negatively? Clearly, to think positively.

So what I am suggesting to you is that this is the only reason that should matter to you in which manner you decide to think for the rest of your life. Even if you think deep down that the world is a negative place, make a choice to think optimistically because it is the better way to move through life. If you do this, then eventually your thoughts about how you view the world will begin to shift.

Ask yourself, which mindset is more empowering? Which mindset is more inspiring? Motivating? Exciting?

We have this obsession with “being right” in our culture but here I am suggesting something else. Forget about what is “right” because what is “right” is really just your opinion anyways (an opinion based on your thought-created reality). Instead, focus on what is most useful to your well-being and that is clearly to think positively.

For more discussion on “being right” see my post on subjective vs. objective truth and right vs. right for you.

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- Building who you are on a house of sand
- How negative thoughts spiral out of control

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Topics: Awareness-Consciousness, Decision Making, Emotional Intelligence, Inspiration, Limiting Beliefs, Logic-Intelligence, Motivation, Personal Development, Shifts |

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