2014.1.26: Go Optimism!
S: 11:10pm
E: 12:36am
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life…. Ok, I don’t mean to plagiarize. I have this saying in its entirety pasted on my wall back in my room in Los Angeles. This phase tells me the importance of a person’s attitude on their life. How a person thinks, his or her outlook, plays a major part in that person’s life cycle.
Due to its importance, it is critical for a person to have
an optimistic way of thinking and outlook on life. I want to be with optimistic people and to
make optimistic friends. I want to be
with people who see opportunity at night and by day. I want to be with people who see what is
socially constructed as a “lose” or “win” to be a gain, a win, or an
opportunity. I want to be with people
who see the glass as half-full first instead of as half-empty.
Instead of people telling others that they can’t do this or
that or being judgmental, I want people who instead ask “Let’s see what we can
do.” And, for goals that seem
unreachable, I want them to say “Let’s look at some things we can do to help
reach that goal.”
For example, if someone wants to be like Bill Gates, instead
of just dismissing that person’s dreams and aspirations by saying “that’s
impossible,” I want people to instead say “OK, let’s see what we can do.” That person can first learn how to use a computer. Then, he or she can work on studying and
getting a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. After that, the person can gain some
experience by working for a software company.
After a while, once the person has more experience, he or she can team
up or start their business alone. If
that dreamer is persistent, reevaluates his/her progress, and does their best,
that person will be able to achieve as close to that person’s dreams as
possible. What I described is just one
track or way that person can become like Bill Gates. Then again, it depends on what that person
defines Bill Gates as. Does he/she want
to be a great computer innovator or a rich man/woman?
Robert H. Schuller said that “I’d rather attempt to do
something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” Most successful people, if not all, have an
optimistic orientation. They believe in
themselves and in their dreams.
Being optimistic involves seeing all situations in a
positive light. One of the great
Biblical figures who had bad upon bad handed to him is Apostle Paul. Yet, he states, “When I am weak then I am
strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10b). He knows
that in times of his weakness, of troubles, of tribulations or persecutions, he
can more easily seek the One who is all-powerful and that he can learn and grow
stronger from these windy experiences.
In the Army I have soldiers tell me that they would just rather
die than be me. “Your life sucks” they
say and they would point out all the obvious flaws and weaknesses that I have
or may have. But then, I thought to
myself one day in the military, if I can be someone else, who would I be? I looked at other soldiers. They seem strong, knowledgeable about their
jobs, and/or have many friends. But I
have one thing many of them don’t have: the ability to be with God. I have God.
I can talk to God. I can also
talk to myself and problem-solve. I told
myself that if I can talk to God, then I can have anything. So, I’m happy to be me. I have the better deal.
One of the foundations of social work is optimism. Social workers focus on a client’s strengths
and empowers the person or group to be all they can be. The very fact that people try to help those
who need help is a mark of optimism. Pessimistic
people might look at the homeless, or offenders, or in Jesus’ time,
tax-collectors and sinners, and say “Oh they are homeless, they are hopeless”
or “Oh they are offenders, there is no hope for them.” But no!
We don’t give up on people because God doesn’t give up on them.
Parents who are pessimistic can give a negative self-fulfilling
prophecy to their children. Children are naturally optimistic. They would try new things. They would draw, climb, taste, and do
whatever that is pleasing to them or that is interesting. However, if the parent tells the child, “Your
drawing sucks, don’t draw,” or “You can’t even jump right, don’t bother playing
basketball,” the classical “You won’t amount to anything” type of speech, then
the child will not reach his or her full potential because he/she doesn’t know
what their full potential is. The child
won’t try, won’t experiment what their mountain peaks are. I feel it is safe for me to say that I am not
born in an optimistic family. One of my
caretakers will use negative language to motivate me. That person will say alternations of “You won’t
amount to anything.” That person will
not encourage me to try new things. That
person will say I’m “stupid.” My list is
not exhaustive. Thus, I am brought up in
a negative mindset. I would tend to see
what I can’t do instead of what I can do first.
I would focus unduly on my problems and weaknesses instead of my
strengths or what I can do about my problems.
I would get depressed a lot. I am
able to change my mind-set slowly by knowing Someone who is optimistic.
I feel this world is very pessimistic. People always look at the bad or assume the
worse in people first. Look at the TV
shows, the daily news, or magazines.
People are attracted to negative things.
And then there are those people who are optimistic in making others pessimistic. These people can be anywhere, in the real
world or online. They just seem to do
their best in putting others down. Those
who experienced it will know what I mean.
I feel pessimism may be from Satan or the Evil One. He will always try to discourage us. He will always tell us, “No, you can’t do
this; No you suck,” or “Why don’t you just die….” God empowers but Satan disempowers.
I’m happy to know that my God is an optimistic God. The Lord is “patient… not wanting anyone to
perish” (2 Peter 3:9). He is optimistic
that people will turn back to Him. He
sent his son Jesus to die for us in hopes that we can believe in Him. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
In writing about optimism, I want to note that optimism does
not mean living in the skies all day and ignoring reality. We do need to be a realist. I would say our mindset needs to be 80%
optimistic, 20% realistic, and 0% pessimistic.
In this world, there will always be people who are
pessimistic, but the only person who can truly be optimistic is yourself. “And so it is with you… we are in charge of
our ATTITUDES” (Charles R. Swindoll).
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