Wednesday, May 20, 2009

March 26 - Optimism

I was thinking about "optimism" today and decided that it's a state of mind about which we have a choice. The "glass half empty" versus the "glass half full" attitude applies and we all have the freedom to look at life through the lens of our personal viewpoint.

It seems to me that while we may not be able to control the cards that we're dealt in this life, we have total control of the game we play with them. We can choose to be bold and adventurous, timid and retiring, or adopt the role of the victim in the game, or indeed any other role.

At any point we can decide that the game is not to our liking and not working for us, in which case we can adopt a change of strategy. It's all about free choice and it all hangs on how we feel and whether we want to continue to feel that way.

I guess these thoughts were prompted by a story I heard on the radio about a particular child soldier. He was kidnapped at the age of eight and forced to live and fight as a soldier until he was 16, when he was rescued. There was enough abuse and trauma in his life to have turned him into a permanently scarred mental case, but this didn't happen. Instead he chose to use the abuse as a catalyst for personal growth and, having resolved the situation for himself, go on to help in the rehabilitation of other children. He didn't see himself as a victim and was therefore able to step out of the role that circumstances had put him in for a time.

There are cases like this all the time in different situations and it leads me to wonder what influences different people in their reactions to circumstances. Personally, I'm a "glass half full" type and I'm yet to encounter a circumstance that has me totally floundering in victimhood. Given that I'm now more than halfway through my life I don't expect this to change anytime soon. For me optimism begets more optimism. I can't help myself.

How do you react when bad stuff happens?

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