“Optimism - the doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly.” This quote from Ambrose Bierce, while short and sweet, is an accurate reflection of my own personal philosophy. Throughout our lifetimes, many things get thrown at us; the good, the bad, the happy, and the sad. It is up to us on how we choose to handle these situations. I hold steadfast to the idea of optimism. And although at times it has come back to bite me, throughout my life experiences, I have proven to be an eternal optimist. Being an optimist, one must see the silver-lining in every situation, even when it looks bleak. Being able to do this is very helpful in group settings, and often I have been named the “cheerleader” of the group because of my optimistic attitude and belief that anything is possible. One of these groups is the tennis team. Our team, while enthusiastic, is not as experienced or as large as the other tennis teams in our athletic league. Because of this, winning is rare and it is simple to give up on matches before we even hit the courts. This negative attitude does not further our cause, and often makes us lose more rapidly than we would have if we had come out with a positive attitude. Once I realized this, I made it my mission to be the “cheerleader” of our team. When my fellow teammates say something negative about our upcoming matches, I come around with positivity and attempt to boost the morale of our team. Another group in which I keep a positive attitude is show choir. Because show choir is a subjective medium, many times we come back from competitions wondering why we didn’t win an award or why the judges did not like what we presented to them. It is not uncommon for bus rides home after a disappointing ou... ... middle of paper ... ...ature and get away with things that they wouldn’t do to other people. Although too much positivity can lead to naiveté, I still believe in the power of optimism. After a long day, nothing beats the feeling knowing that you made someone else smile and believe, if for just a second, the world is a wonderful place. Being positive is a choice. And contrary to popular belief, it’s not always easy. There are times that you may want to give up or just be content with being negative. But, you must pick yourself back up and remember that tomorrow is another day, and every day is an opportunity to make your situation better. As Richard M. DeVos said, “Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A world of optimism and hope. A 'you can do it' when things are tough.” This is an idea that I try to live by every day; my state of eternal optimism.
In life, it is important to be optimistic, and see the glass as half full. Being optimistic means to look at things in a positive way. And it is important to stay optimistic in life. Being an optimist can also be thought of as having lots of hope for the future. Sometimes it is hard to be optimistic when other things in your life are going wrong. But, you have to look past the negatives, and try to see the best in things and keep hope. Penelope and I are both similar because we both stay optimistic in life.
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.
There’s optimism in all literature known to man if not optimism then it would be pessimism. They are the basis of any literature work. It’s found in many books and poems today. In the novel Fahrenheit451 by Ray Bradbury evaluates the theme of optimism. The author Ray Bradbury writes about a guy named Montag who is in a society where firemen burn houses instead of putting fires out. Montag seeks out the good in the books which are banned in this dystopian society where knowledge is forbidden to rise from society. He and other literature seekers pave the way for him to learn knowledge and the freedom of thinking which is against the law in this society. Montag falls in love with books so much that he tries to find someone who can teach him about the books and how important they are to life. The world would fall apart without knowledge no one would have a clue on what to do or how to eat since they don’t have that knowledge at hand. Optimism can also be found in the William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus”, Freedom to Breathe” by Alexander Solzheitsynand and in the speech “The Nobel acceptance by Elie Wiesel.
Something I have learned from past cheerleaders is that a bad attitude is toxic to our program and tends to keep our team from reaching its full potential. I try my best to always stay positive and keep a smile on my face to not only make practice enjoyable for me but for the whole team. We have seen how bad attitudes can affect our program, but imagine what a few good attitudes could do. This all comes back to the captains and how they deal with certain teammates that are not contributing to the
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
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
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.
For example, “Optimism," said Cacambo, "What is that?" "Alas!" replied Candide, "It is the obstinacy of maintaining that everything is best when it is worst,” (Voltaire
Optimism was an attractive to many because it answered a profound philosophical question: if God is omnipotent and benevolent, then why is there so much evil in the world? Optimism provides an easy way out: 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.
It also has less to do with believing that everything is for the best and more to do with simply appreciating the good in the world. When one chooses to focus only on negativity, it can actually be more dangerous than blind optimism in the long run because it causes one to become unnecessarily depressed and numb to reality. That is no way to live one’s life; some degree of optimism is necessary to be happy. Everything that happens may not all be part of a plan or for the greater good, but there are most definitely good things that happen in life. To me, being optimistic means appreciating those things and hoping that good things will happen to you. For the last few years or so, I have tried to adapt my own way of thinking to this kind of optimism and it has benefited me greatly. It is not necessary to force oneself to believe that everything that happens is good or for the greater good. That is just not reality, but what is reality is that both bad and good things happen. When one focuses on the actions of love and goodness and how important they are to all happiness and success that is found in the world, one also realizes that those positive happenings are truly what matter in the long
Another instance in which optimism is used as a defense for a bad event that took place is in chapter 22. “‘I have seen the worst,’ Candide replied. ‘But a wise man, who since has had the misfortune to be hanged, taught me that all is marvellously well; these are but the shadows on a beautiful picture.’ ‘Your hanged man mocked the world,’ said Martin. ‘The shadows are horrible blots.’ Candide is so persistent in believing Pangloss’ philosophy despite the fact that there is so much evidence to prove how his philosophy is nonsense. Although there are time in the book when Candide doubts Pangloss’ philosophy. “‘Oh, Pangloss!’ cried Candide, ‘thou hadst not guessed at this abomination; it is the end. I must at last renounce thy optimism.’ ‘What is this optimism?’ said Cacambo. ‘Alas!’ said Candide, ‘it is the madness of maintaining that everything is right when it is wrong.’” Candide refuses to abide by Pangloss’ philosophy because he realizes that it is crazy to try and believe that everything is ok when in reality it is not. 2 of the quotes above show how Candide and Pangloss remain optimistic in times of despair and 1 of the quotes shows the disappointment from discovering that being optimistic is not as great as it
I feel much better being positive than I do when I’m sad or upset. When I’m not in a good mood, I am not a very fun person to be
The only thing in my life that I can be positive about is change. Everything changes, from the moment we’re born to the moment we die. Reality has many twist and turns, and our perception of reality is what shapes us to become who we are. Our life is spent on deciphering the difference between reality and not reality. This is hard to define because reality is unique to each individual.
My philosophy in life is that people should always have a positive attitude no matter the situation. I always look at the positive side of things even when there seems to be none. Positivity allows me to see the world in a better perspective and achieve much more than I would if I had a negative outlook on things. Positivity also gives me an extra push to achieve my goals. Positivity can closely compare to self-reliance.
During our tennis season in the fall, our team participates in many competitions. I try to encourage my teammates to keep this same attitude to always give their absolute hardest on the court during competitions, as well as during practice. I learned this year as captain, that a group of individuals, united by a common goal and drive, can accomplish great achievements. We fought hard and made it to the Regional Semifinals, and completed our season ranked as the number six team in the state of Texas.