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The importance of optimism
The importance of optimism
Concept of optimism
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Most people would say that I view the glass as half full, but I don’t necessarily agree with this. I’ve experienced close friends committing suicide, people bullying for my weight as a child, cousins becoming addicted to drugs, and seeing my mom fight depression for two years, and honestly, it’s hard to see the bright side of situations when there are glaring negatives. But after a few years, feeling sad became exhausting. Because I don’t fight mental illnesses like most of my family or face financial hardships, I try to help everyone focus on the positives. I find my optimism special because “ignorance is bliss” does not apply to my optimism. I am not ignorant of the downsides to situations nor do I choose to ignore them, but I don’t
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
While the notion of optimism is seldom brought to attention on a daily basis, it is actually an integral part of the human experience, even among those who claim to be particularly rational. In fact, it serves as a sort of Chicken Soup for the Soul, for society. Of course, rather than being a series of inspirational books, optimism quite literally gives off the comfort of warm soup on a cold and dreary day- wafting in the possibility of hope and the sentiment that this is the “best of all possible worlds.” It is this comfort that people cling to in times of strife, be it a death of a loved one, or even something as typical as a missed bus. The prevalence of optimism began in 1710, when Gottfried Leibniz asserted that the actual world was as
The article about the Chinese farmer by Evelyn Theiss is deep and very thoughtful. It actually touches a part of the way I think. Life is full of events, some of them might be good and others might be bad, and the way the person thinks affects how he/she sees these events. Personally, I don’t prefer negativity because it would always make things worse. On the other hand, I don’t like being positive too much because I would be so depressed if things didn’t work out the way I thought it would. Living life with balancing both sides is the best, in my opinion, and that Chinese farmer did exactly what the best (2009). I always believe that anything would happen to us is for a cause, even if it’s bad, we could learn from it.
Everyone have different ways in achieving happiness. The science of happiness, is a subject that generates a great deal of debate. Yet the pursuit of happiness is more about how people deals with their surroundings. Moreover, others have discovered that happiness is relates to positive behavior in which people do in everyday life. In the book, The Happiness Advantage, by Shawn Achor, he discusses the theory that people need to pursuit happiness before they want to become success. In addition, the author presents some ideas that relate to people actions when dealing with certain problems. Therefore, the idea of behavior that people conduct in daily life is an important element to a happy life, and this is the subject of this investigation.
This study would be the first of its kind in Australia, so it is exploratory research and will therefore use qualitative data. Qualitative data would be the most appropriate type of data to collect, as this research requires a detailed understanding of the participants’ experiences. As psychological and emotional wellbeing are subjective terms, this research is interested in the meaning of these terms for the participants rather the researcher’s understanding. The participant’s would also be able to describe their experiences using their own language in depth, increasing the validity of the research. This is particularly beneficial when studying children, as they often have different perceptions and understandings to adults and a simpler level of language.
Are you more of a glass half-empty type of person or a glass half-full? In the essay “Happiness is a glass half empty” writer Oliver Burkeman would say he is a glass half empty type of person. In his essay he writes, “Be positive, look on the bright side, stay focused on success: so goes our modern mantra. But perhaps the true path to contentment is to learn to be a loser” (Burkeman). I think what he means in this statement is people nowadays are taught to always look on the brighter side of life. When in actuality people should be looking on the negative side of life to realize how great their lives really are. In this essay writer Oliver Burkeman uses rhetorical devices such ethos, pathos, and logos to prove that maybe being negative
“Optimism 1. the tendency to look on the bright side of things 2. the belief that everything will turn out for the best”
As the sun set, over the horizon, a couple sat at the beach shore. The boy leaned over and embraced his mate, and whispered to her, “I love you”. Those three words, which would bring emotional sparks to a person. These three words have great meaning behind them and they bring so much happiness to a person. Today, everyone strives to find happiness. However, there are only a few who realized what true happiness is. Others look for happiness where there is wealth, they would spend half of their life trying to acquire it. But wealth cannot give the emotional needs and spiritual fulfillment needed in order to be happy. In today’s everyday life, people look for pleasure in drugs, alcohol and their sexual life, in order to fulfill the void of happiness. Instead of facing what true happiness is, they take pride and run away from it. One cannot differ pleasure from happiness, which is why people often get them confused. The material possessions that they chase after may help people to forget their worries for small period of time but not forever. Only a few know of the secret to happiness. The key to happiness is
It doesn’t matter whether you are a college student, homeless man or professional football player, humans are all pursuing the same exact thing, happiness. Happiness cannot be bought, earned or gifted but through positive psychology I can learned to be better at being happy. “Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living” (Peterson). In other words, it’s the study of what makes people happy and how to improve on being happy. The main focuses in positive psychology are to build on the best things in life and work on repairing the worst parts. Positive psychology isn’t just for people that are severely depressed or have major mental disorders; it’s useful for even the happiest of people because nobody’s ever
Positive thoughts are incredibly valuable in life. Professor Barbara Fredrickson is a social psychologist from the University of North Carolina. She suggests that positivity is what helps you experience emotions like joy, appreciation, motivation, and inspiration. When you are experiencing positive emotions like these, you will see more possibilities and worth in your life. There is real power in optimism. Optimists are problem solvers, they try to find the good in all situations. They try to improve
“Be optimistic! Don't you be a grumpy. When the road gets bumpy, just smile!” Do these words sound familiar? These lyrics are from a song called “Be Optimistic” by Shirley Temple. Not only did she sing happy songs, but she also was a cheerful movie star loved by most. Through many of her television roles, Shirley fought the Great Depression with her innocent, twinkly smile. Amid the fear and hardships of the Great Depression, Shirley Temple was a redeemer to America. She provided hope when there was none. Like Shirley, we need to learn to be optimistic in any situation. It could help one achieve success in all walks of life. To achieve success socially, physically, and mentally, one should make having an optimistic outlook on life a top priority.
Happiness is different for many people. Although “happy” is one of the first adjectives people learn, the requirements for people to consider themselves happy are numerous. It would be remiss to invoke parameters upon happiness because of this. Unfortunately the modern era has brought about a happiness-seeking culture; a society that seeks to be strictly happy without any of the lows. This creates a multitude of problems including a culture focused on an economic system that measures happiness and a disregard for the lows which create meaning in happiness. Happiness also creates and amplifies the desire to be complacent in the intellectual pursuits. For many people the goal of happiness equates to a reason to ignore all problems and challenges
Lastly, and optimistic viewpoint can add meaning to life even during or after a major conflict. According to an article written by Harrison Wein called Positive Emotions and Your Health, “Another sign of emotional wellness is being able to hold onto positive emotions longer and appreciate the good times. Developing a sense of meaning and purpose in life—and focusing on what’s important to you—also contributes to emotional wellness” (Wein). So, not only does positivity help conflict victims find purpose in their life, but a valuable lifestyle also supports an optimistic attitude. Positivity and a meaningful life go hand in hand and help keep people’s minds
than just "doing," then you can have the joy of not only being in the
However, the filtration of our thoughts has never been to this extent. We are not inherently optimistic or pessimistic. We haven’t always seen the world through these lenses, the world we live in is not simply black and white. It’s a plethora of grey shades tinted and tainted with every single colour imaginable. Though we do display the ability to utilize common sense and register a situation as good or bad, we are not wired to react to the situation in a certain way. Another factor present today is optimism bias, which is the tendency of individuals to underestimate the likelihood that they will encounter adversity during their life. There are numerous opinions on the matter, is the optimism bias we display beneficial to us or is it actually more harmful than we