Is Optimism A Scam?

The problem with optimism is, it’s marketed and oversold to the masses as an easy strategy to success. Just flip a switch in your head and turn your negative thoughts into positive ones and BOOM!!, you’re on your way.

It doesn’t work like that

There are millions of people on the verge of starvation in Africa and other places around the world as I write this. Being optimistic won’t all of a sudden produce food. Optimism is good for mental health as it’s always good to be hopeful but it won’t feed people. Only better aid and assistance will do that.

Although being optimistic is way better than being negative, it’s not a magic solution to people’s problems. What is a solution to people’s problems is using a gradual approach each day that involves not seeing the problem as an immoveable object, because most aren’t. Your own fear makes the problem far worse than it really is, and this is the first thing you should be dealing with rather than optimistically thinking everything is going to be OK.

Optimism itself doesn’t get things done, you get things done.

Cynicism and pessimism are part of most cultures, the poorer that people tend to be, the higher the levels of cynicism and pessimism exist. Also, if you come from a negative and cynical family, you are more likely to be that way. It’s a bit of a double edged sword, on the one hand people are fairly pessimistic because they are poor, but on the other hand you could argue that by being pessimistic, this is also contributing to being poor.

I do think people are hardwired from birth to think the worst. Think about it. From birth until we leave school and leave mom and dad, we are told off, we hear the word “No” far more than the word “Yes”, we have to endure many struggles throughout our early years, and for many people, those struggles go on into adulthood.

That is not to say that optimism and positive thinking are not a plus. They are, however, you won’t switch from a negative person to a positive person overnight, and positivity has to be accompanied by deeds. As you improve your thinking by 1% a day, a week or month, you also have to improve your workflow toward your ideal life. If you are not improving yourself, you life probably isn’t improving either.

What 99% of us can be thankful for is that we were not born during a war or are not going through the hell of living through a war right now. That is incredibly hard to be optimistic through, although not impossible.

Is Optimism A Scam?

I think optimism will always win out over pessimism, however the way it’s marketed to people is not always good, and therefore people get very cynical about positive thinking, members of my own family have accused me of seeing the world through rose tinted glasses, because of my own optimistic outlook. The truth is, optimism, positive thinking etc are tools to use, they are not the be all and end all.

If you’re the most positive person on the planet but you sit on the couch eating chips all day, you will probably not experience a very positive life.

So what’s the answer?

Step 1. View problems as moveable objects. A life without problems doesn’t exist. Accept them and work on eliminating them. Because life is sinking at the moment, doesn’t mean it always will be like that, being cheerful can and will help, add hope, faith and action into the mix and you can really start to motor.

Step 2. Treat optimism as a tool. Gradually ease your way out of negativity and bad habits by releasing the things that cause them. Keep a regular check on the company you keep, are they assisting your journey through life or are they hindering you?

Step 3. Look forward. Try new things and work on your mindset. A 1% improvement per day will be life changing in a few months. Let go of the past, it’s over, don’t keep going back to the past, you have today or the future left, the past has passed.

Step 4. Getting out of negative situations takes time. Stop looking for instant gratification, most results come after everyone else would have given up. Create a workable plan and work on it every day.

I hope you found this useful. If you did, why not leave a comment below or share this post.

All the best

Keith