Optimism is a Choice

Pessimism will never work out, ironically.

I’m a recovering pessimist.

That’s right. I spent the first half of my life seeing the proverbial glass as half-empty. (And the glass was half-empty with really sour lemonade at that.)

But one day as I was lamenting my lot in life, in a job I was in for four years that should have been two, a friend gave me a powerful phrase: “What’s the worst that can happen?”

“What’s the worst that can happen?”

Those six words started my journey of optimism.

And coincidently, that’s when things started working out. 

I started to take more risks. My career took off. I met my amazing wife. And my wonderful kids emerged soon after. 

Now don’t let that last paragraph fool you. 

I’ve had to deal with plenty of disappointments and failures. 

And I can assure you, I am not a “No bad days” kind of person. 

Far from it. 

But optimism is the thing that I try to choose more often than not. 

What if things don’t work out…WAIT, WHAT IF THEY DO?”

I have read that pessimism is hard-wired into us as humans. In fact, when you think about humanity back when dinosaurs lurked just outside your cave walls, pessimism was a survival tool. Our ancestors woke up each morning and thought: “I’m thirsty, but the river is too far from the cave and there’s probably a T-Rex ready to make me his breakfast.”

What’s another way of looking at this?

Apart from being hard-wired into us, pessimism is also contagious.

About a week ago, I was watching Bill Maher. His monologue was all doom and gloom about the state of the world and the Midterms. 

As I watched, I found myself getting sucked in. 

And I gave in.

Yet come Tuesday night I was pleasantly surprised. It turns out Americans can see through the propaganda and junk politics to support the most important idea and ideal of all: Democracy.

The optimist in me should have remembered that the country was founded on optimism: 

“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”

The rest of my week had all manner of projects and meetings. 

And while there were some that I wasn’t entirely positive about, I tapped into my “optimism reserve.” 

I really don’t want to do this meeting…but what can I learn?

How great can this thing be?

Fall down 7 times, get up 8.

Pessimism is a losing proposition. In fact, losing is built into the philosophy.

But optimism always gives you a chance. A chance to win. A chance for greatness. A chance for the thing you want to have happen…to happen.

So choose optimism. Chances are, things will work out.

“I never lose. I either win or learn something.” ~Nelson Mandela