Why I Choose To Be an Optimist

Why I Choose To Be an Optimist                                                                200311

                A pessimist thinks that things are going to come out bad and is surprised when they come out good. An optimist, on the other hand, expects things to be good and they do most of the time. There are many people who are pessimists and proud of it; I choose to be an optimist instead, and here are three reasons why.

1.       Research has shown that ninety percent of the things we worry about never happen.

I can spend my whole life worrying that something bad is going to happen to me, but I have a ten percent chance of success. Most people do not put their money where the chances of success are as low as twenty-five percent but still worry themselves to death because of things that are more likely not to happen.

I have said that if you left the clothes on the line and delay going home for some reason. You can choose to worry about some thief coming to take the clothes or to enjoy yourself until you get home to find out if they are still on the line. If there is no way of telling someone to take them off the line then the thief will come and steal whether you are worried or not. If he/she does not realize there are clothes on the line, then you will find the clothes on the line. It is not worrying that will keep them there or cause them to be stolen. These are independent events. Worrying will not change the results. I choose to be optimistic in such situations because there are greater chances of me being right.

2.       Optimists make life easy for everyone.

If you have lived with a pessimist you know how the atmosphere in the house is always negative. Pessimists are always looking for something to go wrong and when eventually something goes wrong they say they knew it would be so. All the time you learn to look forward to some imaginary disaster. This may take time to come and meanwhile everyone is miserable. When it eventually turns up the ‘confirmation’ makes everyone look forward to the next disaster, never mind it may come in three months. This is a miserable way of living.

An optimist, on the other hand, looks forward to something great happening. Many great things happen everyday and they look forward to seeing more. Their mood is always good and they share it with everyone. These are the people who are pleasant to meet. Every time you call them they leave you feeling great. I want to be such a person but there is no hope of succeeding if I am a pessimist.

3.       Pessimists bring a lot of health problems upon themselves

It is no secret that those who worry a lot end up with health problems like ulcers and hypertension. The pessimist is always thinking about something bad that is on the way and in the end he/she develop a health condition. The health condition becomes another area which causes worrying and soon all things deteriorate. There is a better way to live. It is called optimism. It does not mean you sit down and wish nothing bad happens. You expect the best from every situation and refuse to worry about things until they become reality. If the bad things happen, then you think about what you can do to correct them. You only worry about them as long as they are around not before.  That way you do not burden yourself with things that you may never experience.

Optimism is a choice. You have to decide to be positive about things that happen. It takes work, however. Pessimism is easy. Anyone can see the bad side of things. But then, anyone who focuses on the bad side ends up in hospital with more things to worry about and a continually deteriorating situation. Why not choose to be an optimist beginning today. You owe it to yourself. I choose to be an optimist instead of a pessimist.