Optimism isn't just thinking positive. It's asking how to improve and taking action: emotional work, self-care, helping others. Bob Swankler's definition separates it from pessimism, which limits growth.
Optimism is one of the most misunderstood, or shall we say, one of the most misinterpreted words. Now, we have heard about this many times from various motivational speakers. Be optimist. There was a debate going on with my friends about it, and one of my friends presented a wonderful description about optimism, originally described by an author called Bob Swankler. So the credit for this information goes to Bob Swankler. This is a powerful explanation of optimism. Optimism is not believing that everything will turn out okay. It's not seeing the glass half full. It's not looking at the bright side of the things. It's not believing that you are doing everything really wonderful. It's not knowing that tomorrow will be a wonderful day. It's not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not believing in yourself. Now, these are all just beliefs we tell to ourselves to make us feel more comfortable. And in the same instant, we ignore or just hide the parts that we don't feel like examining where they continue to happen. Optimism is curiosity. It's saying to yourself, how can I fill this glass up even more? It's asking, how can I grow in spite of pain, bad mood, and bad emotion? It's seeing what you have created and asking, how can I improve this even further? And it's wondering how you can live even more fully and provide even more value tomorrow. And it's wondering what is to discover within the darkness of the tunnel. It's getting curious about yourself. What steps do you— do I need to take to create what I would like to create? Optimism is action. It's doing what's needed to fill the glass up even more. It's doing the emotional work. It's creating the improvements. And it's taking the time to taking care for yourself and going the extra mile for a client or a friend or a lover. It's exploring the tunnel by the feel of your hands in the pitch black. It's acting upon the answers you find. Optimism is knowing that we have the choice in our lives. It's disbelief in the belief that, that will cause us pain when they are contradicted by emotional circumstance. It's owning our power and acting upon it. It's fully owning our spirits and our lives. Optimism makes you more powerful and open to the new possibilities. Pessimism makes you weaker and limits your growth. So when you are stuck and feel powerless, ask the questions I shared in this video. Think of your friend who you may find this, uh, video very helpful and share it with them. Let me know how those questions made a mind shift, and I'm more than happy to connect with you and love to know your experiences too.
