ENGAGING THOUGHT
I am an unashamed optimist. I can't help it - and even if I could - I don't want to change. No one has ever given me a convincing reason to choose to see the negative side of things rather than the positive side. To this day, Disney's Pollyanna is one of my favorite movies. Pollyanna is a young girl who seems constitutionally incapable of dwelling on the negatives - no matter how nasty or unfortunate the circumstance or the person, she finds the tiniest glimmer of sunshine and latches onto that until everyone around her is forced to see that there is always hope, even in the midst of overwhelming darkness.
I believe that optimism is a choice that can lead to a habit, then become an outlook and finally, a lifestyle. Cynics accuse we optimists of being "doe-eyed idealists" and "dreamers." Amen. I'd much rather be pegged as one who chooses to strive toward ideals and DREAMS than one who cowers in the corner. Was that too harsh? Should I be nicer to the critics? In our culture we don't erect statues to critics, but we do for reformers. Reformers, like optimists, recognize that not everything is perfect and wonderful, but fundamentally they believe it can be changed and improved.
So, where are you on this scale? Is your default position one of optimism or pessimism? Be honest. Do you tend to pucker at the bitter unfairness of lemons, or do you immediately begin to taste the lemonade? Our outlook has a way of becoming both self-feeding and addictive. When we look for the positive and the encouraging elements in our lives we tend to notice them easily (and vice-versa). We also begin to develop a "taste" for them - even a craving for them - so we seek them out, and guess what? We find more positive things, which we take in, and then seek more...and more...and on and on and on. It becomes a cycle of positivity and optimism.
So when and where did my optimism start? Well, I've always been happy (remember my nick-name from Day 5, "Sunny-Billy") but I think it stems from a book I read and a sign I made in High School. The book: in 10th grade I read a book by Zig Ziglar called See You at the Top. It is corny and unashamedly super-positive (it's like a cheerleader hopped-up on ritalin and caffeine) - and I believed it. I reread that book almost every year. The sign: one evening I sat at the desk in my bedroom and made a little sign out of construction paper and white vinyl letters that said, "Go out there and succeed because I know that you can and will do it." I hung that sign right over my light-switch so I'd see it every time I left my room. I didn't take that sign down until I moved out of my parent's house. I made the choice to believe that sign. I still believe that sign.
Are you familiar with the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy? It's this: you will make a reality out of what you believe to be true about yourself and your future - otherwise you'd be proving yourself wrong. If you believe you are a failure - you'll unknowingly do what it takes to prove yourself a failure (no matter how self-defeating and foolish that sounds). The converse is also true, however: when we decide to see ourselves as successful - successfully pursuing and living God's DREAM for our lives - we will do whatever it takes to prove ourselves right!
I believe that optimism is a choice that can lead to a habit, then become an outlook and finally, a lifestyle. Cynics accuse we optimists of being "doe-eyed idealists" and "dreamers." Amen. I'd much rather be pegged as one who chooses to strive toward ideals and DREAMS than one who cowers in the corner. Was that too harsh? Should I be nicer to the critics? In our culture we don't erect statues to critics, but we do for reformers. Reformers, like optimists, recognize that not everything is perfect and wonderful, but fundamentally they believe it can be changed and improved.
So, where are you on this scale? Is your default position one of optimism or pessimism? Be honest. Do you tend to pucker at the bitter unfairness of lemons, or do you immediately begin to taste the lemonade? Our outlook has a way of becoming both self-feeding and addictive. When we look for the positive and the encouraging elements in our lives we tend to notice them easily (and vice-versa). We also begin to develop a "taste" for them - even a craving for them - so we seek them out, and guess what? We find more positive things, which we take in, and then seek more...and more...and on and on and on. It becomes a cycle of positivity and optimism.
So when and where did my optimism start? Well, I've always been happy (remember my nick-name from Day 5, "Sunny-Billy") but I think it stems from a book I read and a sign I made in High School. The book: in 10th grade I read a book by Zig Ziglar called See You at the Top. It is corny and unashamedly super-positive (it's like a cheerleader hopped-up on ritalin and caffeine) - and I believed it. I reread that book almost every year. The sign: one evening I sat at the desk in my bedroom and made a little sign out of construction paper and white vinyl letters that said, "Go out there and succeed because I know that you can and will do it." I hung that sign right over my light-switch so I'd see it every time I left my room. I didn't take that sign down until I moved out of my parent's house. I made the choice to believe that sign. I still believe that sign.
Are you familiar with the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy? It's this: you will make a reality out of what you believe to be true about yourself and your future - otherwise you'd be proving yourself wrong. If you believe you are a failure - you'll unknowingly do what it takes to prove yourself a failure (no matter how self-defeating and foolish that sounds). The converse is also true, however: when we decide to see ourselves as successful - successfully pursuing and living God's DREAM for our lives - we will do whatever it takes to prove ourselves right!
"A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad the spirit is broken. All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast" (Proverbs 15.13,15 NASB).
ACTION STEP
Today's ACTION STEP is your turn to be the total optimist! Take 5 or 10 minutes and write out as many encouraging things about your DREAM that you can. Be sappy, be goofy, be ridiculously superfluous in your verbosity (use lots of words) - whatever it takes to make you feel somewhat foolish. You'll be smiling all day as you think of new ways to encourage yourself - write them down as well.
TIP: This step will prove to be truly invaluable to you right around Day 42, trust me! Every bit of effort you put into this one now will pay off big later.
Tomorrow we'll see how to leverage off of or away from some past tendencies.
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