Optimism Is The Way

There are a lot of things in life that are outside our control - the weather, traffic, what people think of you - but one thing we can control is our perspective. As Viktor Frankl said:

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

In pursuit of controlling our perspective, my glass half full mindset is sold on the idea that optimism is the way. Today, I wanted to dive into why my belief in optimism is so strong, especially when the world seems to be shouting the opposite.

The Speed of News

Today, more than ever, the general public view is pretty bleak. The consensus is that things are getting worse, not better. And here’s why - good news takes time, bad news moves fast

If you look at any news outlet, even independent ones, the vast majority of stories will be bad news, the fast moving kind. Go on, take a look, I’ll wait. If you asked news outlets to update their stories once in 30 years, the message would be straightforward: longevity has increased, violence has gone down, literacy is up etc 

Consider this: Since 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty globally has fallen by more than 130,000 people every single day. That is a massive, slow-moving headline that never makes it to the front page of any news outlet.

Progress is What Doesn’t Happen

Progress is about what did not happen. Progress is a 90 year old living a healthy life without any complications. Progress is a teenage girl not being abducted on her daily walk to school. Progress is a day in an American city without mass shootings. But that’s all boring to report and doesn’t make the headlines or the top stories on social media. So why report it if you won’t get any eyeballs?

Optimism is hard to see in day to day life. It requires going a level deeper to look behind the curtain, to look at the past and not just base your judgment on anecdotes you see online. 

Why Choose Optimism?

On the surface, having an optimistic view seems no better than having a pessimistic view. They’re both just…views, on a particular topic. Here’s some key reasons why you might want to err on the side of having a glass half full mindset

1. Optimism is the Engine of Innovation

   
   

   Looking back at the history of new ideas and innovations will tell you that having an optimistic mindset will naturally navigate you towards finding problems, and more importantly, solutions to those problems A pessimist will look at a problem and say “that’s the way it is.” An optimist will look at the same problem and say, “there has to be a better way.”

   
   

   Think of the early 1900s. Many looked at the horse and carriage mode of transportation and assumed that has to be the best possible way. Henry Ford looked at the same scene and saw the potential for invention.

   
   

2. Buy In Now, Earn Later

   
   

   A lot of good things in the future come with present sacrifices. To be healthy, you need to sacrifice time for workouts and growing pains that come with it. You need to eat healthy and sacrifice weekend time to meal prep. To get great opportunities at work, you have to excel at a boring project to earn the next great one that comes by.

   
   

   BUT to make those sacrifices now, you have to have hope that the future will be rewarding. To continue working out despite not seeing immediate results, you need to have hope that results will accumulate and eventually show. As James Clear said in Atomic Habits:

   
   

   "Complaining about not achieving success despite working hard is like complaining about an ice cube not melting when you heated it from 25 to 31 degrees. Your work isn't wasted; it is just being stored. All the action happens at 32 degrees”

   
   

   And to have that hope, to not complain, you need to have a general sense of optimism.

   
   

3. Resilience - A Parent’s Perspective

   
   

   Being a parent now, I feel strongly about this one. Optimism leads to greater resilience and adaptability. Optimists believe that bad things happen because of temporary, specific causes that can be overcome, while pessimists believe bad things always happen, and if anything good happens it’s temporary.

   
   

   Optimism is assuming the universe is conspiring for you, while pessimism is assuming universe is conspiring against you. The best part? It’s a learned skill. As many psychological studies have proven, children’s mindset can be shifted through parenting, training, education to make them more resilient and adaptable.

Bottom Line:

Optimism isn’t a delusion that everything is ideal and nothing bad can happen. As Viktor Frankl proved in the most dire conditions imaginable, while we cannot control our environment, we can ALWAYS control our response. The world may tell you otherwise with loud, chaotic headlines but choose optimism whenever possible - not because it feels good, but because it works.

See ya next week!