Put Down the Guns and Pick Up a Positive Attitude What outlook on life can unite a country during war, make children in hiding forget their troubles, and prevent students from being bullied inside and outside of the classroom? The answer is positivity. An optimistic and determined attitude from a world leader like Winston Churchill in his speech Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat could unite those affected by conflict and made them feel sheltered and indestructible. Likewise, Anne Frank’s Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl validates the theory that positivity can clear people’s minds of the chaos going on around them and help them focus on “the little things” that matter. Although positive thinking may not always save lives and a negative viewpoint …show more content…
In Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank goes into hiding and notices her bedroom walls are unusually drab. She states that, “Our bedroom, with its blank walls, was very bare. Thanks to Father -who brought my entire postcard and movie-star collection here beforehand -and to a brush and a pot of glue, I was able to plaster the wall with pictures. It looks much more cheerful” (Frank 374). Although postcards and a movie star collection did not save Anne’s life in the end, these simple decorations helped keep her in a positive mood while in hiding. Another example of optimism aiding people during a stressful situation is in an online article titled Mindfulness and Positive Thinking. The author writes about a study done on HIV-positive patients. Those who exhibited higher levels of optimisim were “more likely to plan their recoveries, seek further information, and avoid self-blame and escapism” (Setton). The optimists were also willing to accept the situation and turn it into a learning experience. Positivity helped people come to terms with their internal conflict and move on so they can focus on other elements of their life again. Lastly, and optimistic viewpoint can add meaning to life even during or after a major conflict. According to an article written by Harrison Wein called Positive Emotions and Your Health, “Another sign of emotional wellness is being able to hold onto positive emotions longer and appreciate the good times. Developing a sense of meaning and purpose in life—and focusing on what’s important to you—also contributes to emotional wellness” (Wein). So, not only does positivity help conflict victims find purpose in their life, but a valuable lifestyle also supports an optimistic attitude. Positivity and a meaningful life go hand in hand and help keep people’s minds
To conclude, positivity is the better solution to a conflict. It can help you look at things in a different perspective.Your outcome will surely be better with a better attitude. If Anne Frank, Louise Ogawa, and Ella Vangheem can do it, so can
Ever hear one say, “Sometimes I’m busy making others happy, that I forget to make sure I’m okay.”? After reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-Sided I have learned that balancing both positive and negative thinking is the single most important life lesson shown throughout the book. Ehrenreich tells readers that the power of positive thinking Is undermining America and how being too positive and too optimistic, can lead to trouble. One that knows how to balance the amount of positivity and negativity will create a proper outcome for their future.
Having a positive outlook can be very important when being involved in a conflict or trying to solve one. This is how Anne Frank and Louise Ogawa from First Read: Dear Miss Breed got through the roughest times of their lives. They kept a positive outlook on things and tried to make the best of the worst. Just looking on the bright side, even if it feels like there isn’t one can make a huge difference. As a great thinker, such as Joyce Meyer, once said, ‘’A positive attitude gives you power over your circumstances instead of your circumstances, having power over you’’. If they did not maintain a positive outlook, then who knows how they would have survived. Having a positive outlook gives you the strength to keeping going
(620) That is a prime example of how people change when they are locked in the same room, because before the Franks went into hiding, Mrs. Frank would have never snapped on somebody the way that she did. During this time in history, Hitler had all of the Jewish people taken to concentration camps and did unimaginable horrible things to them, so that’s why all the Jews were either taken to the camps, fled to other countries, or went into hiding like the Frank family did. Just being the race that they were, courage alone. Anne and the rest of the family had to have courage and be brave because they wouldn’t have survived through the war if they were cowardly and fearful about where their next meal was coming from or if they were going to be caught in hiding.
If someone thinks negatively towards something the outcome will not be good, and vice versa. Thinking you can achieve the American dream is a major key in doing so, and some Americans are already on the right track. In the U.S., a survey showed that 36 percent of Americans say they have achieved the dream, and another 46 percent believe they are on the path of achieving it. It is not so easy, though, to always look on the bright side. Sometimes it seems as if nothing is going right; that is when negativity occurs. People can argue that mindset has little impact on the outcome, or that it does not matter how positive a person is because some things are just not meant to be. An article, however, proves this wrong. The paper argues how negative emotions prevent humans from flourishing; it also states, “if your ratio of positive to negative emotions is greater than 2.9013 to one, you will flourish both physically and psychologically.” If a person believes in themselves, they are more likely to accomplish their
The importance dispositional optimism as a facilitator of well-being, positive health, flourishing, and quality of life has been documented in the positive psychology literature. Dispositional optimism evaluated by the LOT-R is a positive personality trait characterized by favorable personal future expectation (Scheier et al., 1994). It has been emphasized that optimism is a malleable personality trait and that pessimists can become optimists by utilizing techniques such as positive psychology interventions (Carver et al., 2009; Seligman, 2011). In contrast to traditional psychological interventions, positive psychology interventions have a strong focus on cultivating positive personality traits including dispositional optimism.
Optimism was attractive to many because it answered a profound philosophical question that mankind had been grappling with since the beginning of faith: if God is omnipotent and benevolent, then why is there so much evil in the world? Optimism provides an easy way out of this philosophical dilemma: God has made everything for the best, and even though one might experience personal misfortune, God (via your misfortune) is still helping the greater good.
“There's only one rule you need to remember: laugh at everything and forget everybody else! It sound egotistical, but it's actually the only cure for those suffering from self-pity.” (Frank 321) Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl who went into hiding during World War II to avoid being captured by the Nazis. She and seven other people had to hide in a secret annex Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam. Anne received a diary on her 13th birthday and wrote about all the little things that had happened to her throughout the day.
Optimism is applicable to both crises and normal living. It has been shown how optimism brings about the good life amidst catastrophe, but what happens between major life events? One cannot live the good life without a sense of purpose. Optimism encompasses both goals and one’s hope in their accomplishment, giving one a sense of purpose and an anticipation of happiness in times of comfort or distress and keeping the individual progressing within their life story. Thus, a positive view of the future is critical to the good life in adversity or
In the text Anne states, “You no doubt want to hear what I think of being in hiding. Well, all I can say is that I don't really know yet. I don't think I'll ever feel at home in this house, but that doesn't mean I hate it. It's more like being on vacation in some strange pension. Kind of an odd way to look at life in hiding, but that's how things are.” (Frank par.18). She mentions hiding in a different way than most would. She thinks of it as a vacation in some French boarding house, when she is really hiding from Nazis and concentration camps in an attic. This shows her optimism at its highest peak with a positive attitude towards her living quarters and making the best of her
While the notion of optimism is seldom brought to attention on a daily basis, it is actually an integral part of the human experience, even among those who claim to be particularly rational. In fact, it serves as a sort of Chicken Soup for the Soul, for society. Of course, rather than being a series of inspirational books, optimism quite literally gives off the comfort of warm soup on a cold and dreary day- wafting in the possibility of hope and the sentiment that this is the “best of all possible worlds.” It is this comfort that people cling to in times of strife, be it a death of a loved one, or even something as typical as a missed bus. The prevalence of optimism began in 1710, when Gottfried Leibniz asserted that the actual world was as
Anne was an extraordinary person, some may say she was mature for being so young and in an interview conducted with Miep Gies, she said, “Anne had eyes that sparkled and was completely spontaneous. She bristled with life (Covington 2001).” I believe that Anne Frank’s ideal theme of love she has throughout her diary does not just stem from loving something or someone, but comes from her happiness and hopefully mindset. A perfect example of this would be when she says, “And whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery (Frank 1993).” This to me is shows that she is able to have courage, faith, and happiness just because she is able to still love and have feelings even in a time that is so numb and heart wrenching. Anne takes time in her diary to describe the love she had for her family, Peter, and life. Love is something Anne is infatuated with and she thinks she loves Peter and I think this is evident when she says, “Peter Wessel and Peter Van Dann have grown into one Peter, who is beloved and good, and for whom I long desperately (Frank 1993). She has this sense about her as if there is no war, there is no hiding, and that there is just so much life to live and so much love be given in the world. I think is obvious that Anne has the tendency to
B. Cade Massey once said, “It 's gotten to the point where people really feel pressure to think and talk in an optimistic way” (Massey). Optimism is generally seen as healthy, while pessimism is generally seen as dangerous. The difference between optimism and pessimism is a difference in perspective and mindset. An optimist has a positive perspective and cheerful mindset, while a pessimist has a negative perspective and a gloomy mindset. There are consequences to both perspectives. But which has better consequences for one’s health? Assuming that it is moderated, pessimism is healthy for a person’s well-being. Pessimism is more realistic than optimism because it prepares people for an unpredictable and possibly negative life. Pessimism is also better for expectations compared to future surprises. Pessimists are either proven right or pleasantly surprised. Pessimism is a healthier mindset to have than optimism.
My theory suggests, one’s emotions alter the effect of being optimistic or pessimistic. To add, when we develop a greater understanding of our outlook on life, we begin to see changes in our though process. When we are exposed to real life scenerios, we begin to see changes in our emotions. I believe that those who have lived a difficult life, are more likely to have a pessimistic view on life. On the other hand, those who live an easy less traumatic life tend to have a more optimistic view on their everyday life.
The world is made up of optimist and pessimists, and the survival of human beings and our well-being requires a balance between optimism and pessimism. Disproportionate pessimism makes life unbearable; however, too much optimism can advance to dangerously hazardous behaviors. The Optimism and pessimism approach is expecting a positive or negative future outcome, a recognizable way of reasoning is best conceptualized as continuity with many amounts of optimism and pessimism. Successful living requires a great balance between optimism and pessimism. Too much optimism may embolden one to take uncalculated risks that will lead to inadvertent and reckless behaviors, which may conclude in a catastrophe. On the contrary, worrying too much about