Trying Out This ‘Perpetual Optimist’ Thing
You hear that phrase, ‘perpetual optimist,’ thrown around. Sounds like some people just wake up sunny-side up, right? That wasn’t me. For the longest time, if there was a problem to find, I’d find it. Saw the downside first, always.
Honestly, I just got worn out by my own negativity. There was this one morning, everything felt like wading through mud, and I just decided, ‘Enough.’ I figured I had to actively try to change my perspective. Didn’t have a big plan, just knew I needed to do something different.
So, what did I do? I started small. Really small. Made myself find just one good thing each day. Yeah, sounds a bit silly. Some days, the best I could come up with was ‘my socks matched’ or ‘the bus wasn’t late’. Felt awkward at the beginning, like I was pretending. Lots of days, my brain still jumped straight to the worst-case scenario when something went wrong. I literally had to pause, take a breath, and ask myself, ‘Okay, is there any good in this? What can I learn? What’s the next step?’ It took effort. Real, conscious effort.
It wasn’t a smooth ride. There were definitely times I wanted to just scrap the whole idea. I remember one particularly rough patch – work stress piling up, unexpected bills, just one thing after another. It felt almost impossible to find anything positive. Felt like my old grumpy self was banging on the door, wanting back in. Staying positive felt like swimming against a strong current some days.
But then, slowly, I started noticing little shifts. They were subtle at first.
- I wasn’t sighing quite as much when my alarm went off.
- Minor hassles, like traffic jams or long queues, didn’t ruin my whole mood. They were just… things that happened.
- I found myself focusing more on finding a way around a problem instead of just staring at the wall it created.
I guess the moment I realized something had truly changed was after a pretty big disappointment. Something I’d worked hard for didn’t pan out. Old me would have been down in the dumps for ages, replaying it over and over. This time? Sure, I felt the sting. Disappointment is real. But it lasted maybe an evening. The next day, my thoughts naturally shifted to, ‘Alright, that door closed. Where’s the next window? What can I try now?’ It wasn’t forced optimism anymore; it felt like a more natural response.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not bouncing off the walls with joy every second. Life still throws curveballs. I still feel frustration, worry, sadness. Being optimistic, for me, isn’t about ignoring the bad stuff. It’s more about not letting it completely take over. It’s about remembering that tough times don’t last forever, looking for the lesson or the opportunity, however small, and trusting that I can handle what comes next. It’s something I still practice every day. Like keeping a muscle strong, you gotta keep working it.
So, this ‘perpetual optimist’ journey… was it worth the effort? For me, absolutely. It wasn’t about becoming someone I wasn’t. It was about choosing a different way to navigate the ups and downs. Just deciding to try, practicing consistently, and picking myself up when I slipped back into old habits. Made things feel a bit easier to handle, a bit brighter overall. No magic formula, just practice.
