Wisdom Bits Talk: Are You An Optimist ... Or A Pessimist?

Are you an Optimist or Pessimist, or a bit of both? Being a pessimist is not the worst thing you could be. But sometimes life can be sweeter with a delicious half full glass of life’s goodness, rather than a half empty one!
Wisdom Bits are short talks to help you live the positive lifestyle that you deserve.

Transcript

Hi,

This is Stefania.

Welcome to Wisdom Bits,

Short bite-sized talks on positive thinking and self-development topics to help you live the positive lifestyle that you deserve.

Today let's talk about pessimism and optimism.

Which one do you think you are?

Is there such a thing as born to be an optimist?

Winston Churchill said that the pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity,

But the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Which one?

Which one do you call yourself?

Can we be a bit of both depending on our mood or our circumstances?

Or do you think that optimism is something that can weather the storm?

Whether it's a sunny day or a rainy day of life?

Can you be an optimist all the time?

Is an optimist someone that we would consider just to have a more consistent mood no matter what?

An optimist,

When faced with a problem,

Tends to find the upside to the situation and starts figuring out ways to solve that problem or ways to turn it around.

On the other hand,

A pessimist immediately throws up the hands and says,

I can't do it.

It's a waste of my time to try anymore.

Or else they will distance themselves from the problem,

Pretending it doesn't matter.

This is denial and it never works.

It's a common thing to do though.

I think I've done it on the odd occasion.

Distance oneself from the problem and pretend it doesn't matter,

Even though it really might matter.

The person who's usually considered by many to be the world's foremost expert on optimism,

Dr.

Martin Seligman,

Says that everyone is born an optimist.

But believe it or not,

95% of adults are pessimists,

Not optimists.

What goes wrong?

Some people see this glass as half empty while others see it as half full.

I think,

I really think we tend,

As wonderful as it is to be an optimist,

I think we tend to be an optimist sometimes and a pessimist at other times.

A lot of times things turn out though according to how we feel about the situation.

If somebody feels like something will go well or feels optimistic about it,

It usually does seem to go well.

But the same is true of the other way.

When someone feels like something will go badly,

It tends to do just that.

It's like a prediction,

A self prediction,

And the action is following the thought.

One indication that you are dealing with the pessimist is in a simple phrase that they use in stressful situations.

Two words,

I can't.

The pessimist is helpless,

Powerless,

And it shows in that response.

The optimist responds with the other two words,

I won't.

The optimist is making a conscious choice,

Not just reacting.

The optimist is choosing,

Taking their power.

The optimist prefers to think more positively.

We can focus on what we really want,

Not what might happen to us.

Here's a few ideas about optimists.

See how many you can tick off.

Optimists achieve their goals because they never give up.

Optimists attract success naturally.

Optimists are happier,

Healthier,

And more energetic than pessimists.

Optimists are easier to be around,

Inspiring people around them to be more positive.

Besides all of those above,

Optimists tend to lead a higher quality of life.

Some might debate that.

I think that less quality is because maybe when we are in an optimistic mood,

We are more appreciative of what we have at any point in time and therefore we can feel happier.

Not,

I feel really bad now,

But soon as I get this money,

Soon as I get this or that and the other,

I will be appreciative.

I think when we're in the optimistic mood,

Wherever we are in the now,

Today,

We're optimistic.

We're okay with it.

So therefore we can feel happier and that can lead to a higher quality of life because simply one is more satisfied with where they are.

Even though we can still be ambitious,

Have goals,

Have places we want to go,

Things we want to do,

People we want to see,

One is just more satisfied at any point in their life.

Both qualities that I just mentioned are all probably true just by the fact that optimists' positive thinking makes challenging situations,

Mmm,

Not that bad after all.

Sometimes they can be pretty bad,

But sometimes the optimist can find some seed of good or some seed of at least I'm not,

Whatever,

Just something to try to bring their spirits,

Try to bring our spirits back up,

Some find some little germ in any situation to try to get oneself back on track.

Okay,

True optimism is not sitting back thinking positive thoughts,

Hoping everything would turn out all right in the end so I'll just sit there and let it wash over me because I know it's all good.

It's how you see the world,

Positively rather than negatively.

You face each situation,

Each problem and each occasion with a positive attitude and you always look forward to the benefits you will derive from it.

You have a choice.

That's very,

Very important.

You got a choice.

Norman Vincent Peale said,

Change your thoughts and change your world.

Really,

Our attitude is a conscious choice.

Little things,

Big things.

Our attitude is a conscious choice.

Sometimes we can't help what happens to us,

But we do have control over our attitude,

Even if initially we might feel out of control.

The bottom line is we do have control over our attitude.

If we choose pessimism,

We're choosing to see the downside of every situation regardless of any positive input that might show itself.

We could be prone to judge people unfairly because of that,

The blinders,

And we could be pretty much unhappy with life and more importantly,

Maybe ourselves as well.

On the other hand,

If we are a bit more optimistic,

We are empowering ourselves to see the positive side of each challenge and to see the good in people.

We'll probably be more likely to take action to further improve our life and be with people we care about and who care about us.

Life just gets better.

Really,

Life just gets better with that half full glass rather than the half empty one.

Choosing to be more optimistic,

I tell you,

And positive doesn't mean we won't encounter difficult times.

I have to tell you,

Trauma,

Loss,

And many challenges,

But what it does mean is that we will have more power on our side to help us through those tough times.

We'll bounce back faster and make better choices rather than just letting life wash over us helpless.

We'll learn to be proactive instead of reactive.

But it's not all doom and gloom.

Being an optimist,

I tell you,

If you're not naturally optimistic and positive,

Don't worry about it.

You can learn how to use your thoughts to change your attitude and emotions.

It's not always easy,

I have to tell you.

It's not always easy.

Sometimes it's up and down.

Some days will be truly challenging,

But you can do it.

You can do it.

Maybe not the first time,

But keep at it.

You can do it.

Improving your optimism rates is really one of the most important actions that you can take to improve your life.

It's like I see it as your mental immune system,

But it does take a little and sometimes a lot of work.

It takes deliberate conscious awareness of your thoughts and feelings and then acting on that awareness.

Here are a few tips to get you started.

Every time you think a negative thought,

Stop right there and flip it around to find the positive aspect of the situation.

Do this each time and build on it.

Don't.

.

.

Try not,

I can't tell you what to do,

Try not to get discouraged.

Try to keep your courage.

Do it each time and build on it.

If you have a thousand negative thoughts,

It doesn't mean you're a bad person.

Just keep at it.

It can become a habit to be positive and upbeat about your life.

Practice your positive thinking and your positive feeling.

Give yourself permission to think new thoughts and to feel new feelings.

Sometimes it might even be a bit easier if you do a little journaling.

You can have a special notebook or you can just grab whatever you can get your hands on at the moment.

On one side of a piece of paper,

You might write how you feel about a situation with your previous or habitual pessimistic attitude.

And then on the other side,

Pretend like you're an optimistic person and write down how you think an optimistic person would handle the situation.

This is something as well you might have to do more than once because when you get to the optimistic side,

You might just say,

This is rubbish.

I don't know how an optimistic person would do this.

That's okay.

Keep at it.

If it gets too much,

Stop.

Stop writing.

If you know you feel yourself sinking,

Sinking,

Sinking into more pessimism,

Just stop.

Don't get caught up and try again another day.

That exercise can help to expand your mind and just help you get a feel of what it would be like to think a bit more optimistically.

Maybe.

No matter how positive we are,

Life is going to be up and down sometimes.

Sometimes we feel happy and sometimes we feel sad.

Sometimes the news or world events or things going on in our everyday life can throw us into a funk or a pessimistic mood.

But with a bit of an optimistic spirit,

It can just make life go a little more smoothly.

We can recover faster.

So how do you handle your ups and downs?

Do you feel like you are more of a pessimistic person or an optimistic person or a blend?

Something to think about because then you know how you want to move going forward because you really do deserve a good life.

You're amazing.

You really do deserve a good,

Happy,

As best you can,

Life.

Are we an optimist or are we a pessimist or are we a blend?

And that's it for today's wisdom bit,

Talking about pessimism versus optimism or rather pessimism and optimism.

Bye for now.