O is for Optimism

When thinking about O, optimism is the first thing that popped into my mind. I initially rejected the idea, thinking it was too similar to the attitude talk that started this whole thing off. After all, optimism is a specific type of attitude. I mulled over other O's, words like opportunity and outgoing and open-minded. But when I thought about what was really important, what I really want you to grow up knowing, I came back to optimism every time.

Optimism is the ability to see the good potential. It is the marriage of hope and faith. Hope is when you look to the future and desire a positive result, and faith is when you look to the future and believe that positive result will come true. Optimism is the practice of doing those two things so much it becomes second nature. So much it becomes you, becomes your default way of thinking about the world, of reacting to it.

You'll notice that I just said practice. It's true. Optimism takes practice. It takes years and years and years of practice. You will have to keep practicing optimism every day of your life. It will get easier--the more you do it, the easier it will be for your mind to slip down those familiar paths of hope and faith. But life will continue to throw challenges your way, and each one will put your optimism to the test. Not only will life challenge your optimism, but other people will, too. There will be many in life who will scoff at your optimism. Those who will say it is impossibly idealistic. Naysayers who claim that their negative, limited and limiting views aren't pessimistic, but rather, realistic. These people will try to convince you that your optimism is naive, that it only sets you up for disappointment. It is hard for me to say which of these--life's own challenges or the critique rained upon you by others, many of whose opinions you will hold in high esteem--will be harder to overcome in your journey to be optimistic.

And you may wonder, why bother? If optimism takes so much work, if others seem to think it's folly to persist, then why bother? Isn't it easier to not get your hopes up? Isn't it easier to lower your expectations, to expect the worst out of others, out of life, out of yourself?

And if we're being honest . . . yes. Sometimes it is easier to expect the worst out of things. If you don't ever get your hopes up, it's hard to be disappointed. If you never allow yourself to get too high, then falling will never really hurt.

But, here's the key, baby girl: it's not worth it. It's not worth going through life with low expectations. It's not worth expecting the worst out of others. Optimism is what gives our day-to-day existence beauty. It's what coats our lives in a silvery shimmer that makes you tingle and smile with the thought of what's to come. You know that happiness you feel when something great happens to you? Optimism is what gives you that same happiness in the hours and days and weeks and months leading up to that moment of greatness. A pessimist lives life low, scattered here and there with moments of happiness. An optimist lives life high, scattered here and there with moments of sadness. Which would you rather experience?

Remember--the world will be what you make of it. Be optimistic. Have faith in others. Have faith in humanity. And have hope for the future, hope that every wonderful thing you want will come true for you. Be optimistic, and let your optimism guide your actions. Yes, sometimes you will be disappointed. Sometimes your reality won't live up to your vision. But the rest of the time, the rest of the time you will be creating your own successes, you will be living in a bliss that exists when you truly believe there are good things for you in life, good things happening now, good things on your door step, good things just around the corner.

An optimistic attitude--the daily practice of hope and faith--will bring about the very blessings you are striving for. It will create a reality that lives up to your dreams.

And that is something you can believe in.