O is for Optimism

half full/half empty...of what?????

Ok, I always hated the glass half-full/half-empty
analogy of optimism because I always wanted to know what was in the glass. I mean, a glass half full of arsenic is a glass to never touch.

Or if it was water but I seriously needed to pee. . . I mean, come on. What is in the glass????

That aside, optimism is looking for the optimal or best in things. It isn't just being happy for what you've got, but seeing the hope in it.

But first, something to listen to while thinking about Optimism.


Now, I think the better example of optimism is the fictional tale about the father who had one child who was an optimist and one who was a pessimist, and he decided to test that one Christmas. He bought an awesome bicycle for his pessimistic son and a got a big bag of manure for his optimist. Well, on Christmas morning, both boys came out and unwrapped their presents. The pessimist looked at the shiny new bike and immediately began to complain. He would have to take care of the bike, the tires would eventually pop. He would have to practice and he would probably fall and skin his knees or break an arm, and so on and so forth. Well, the optimist, when unwrapping the manure, got really excited and started running from room to room then outside. After a while his father asked him what he was doing, and the boy replied with so much enthusiasm, "With all this poop, there has got to be a horse around here somewhere!!!!"

The reason why optimism is a virtue is that is lifts us up. It brings us hope. And it lightens up stress. Optimistic people live longer.


Here are a few studies/websites about Optimism and health
By Harvard.
University of Rochester Medical Center
The Mayo Clinic
University of Illinois
University of California, Irvine


realist view

The opposite of optimism is pessimism. Pessimism is seeing the worst in things. It sees the mud. It sees the decay. It practices despair, grief, and worry.

A lot of pessimists call themselves realists. By doing so it gives them allowance to complain and look at all the grim things of life. But only seeing the negative is not in fact realism. A realist sees things as they really are. The good with the bad. What we have and what we lack. Not just black and white, but full of color, texture, grade, flavor, smell, and aroma. They see the blessings along with the difficulties. Pessimists let the bad overwhelm the good. They block out what great things they have and dwell on what they lack.

Ok, so why is optimism a Godly trait?
Think about it. God has a great deal of hope for us...us who curse Him, break His commandments, deny His existence, and do all sorts of horrible stuff to each other. He sees the good in us. He sees our potential. And the Christian God especially is full of hope. So much that He gave his Only Begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins and mistakes, with the hope and optimism that we would turn and repent. Honestly that is the best kind of optimism. One so ready to forgive and ready to welcome all His children back if they would just look to Christ and live.

I also think about His faith in His Son, whom He sent. His optimism that His Son would not fail us. That He would not sin. That He could keep his promise when so many of us had messed up. Optimism that His Plan of Salvation would work out in the end. Optimism is not ignorance. It is in fact a joyful knowledge that things will work out in the end for our good.

O is for Optimism.