Do we set our self up for disappointment if we are optimistic? First, we must examine what it means to be an optimist and a pessimist to understand which frame of mind is best to adopt. Optimism focuses on the positive, it is an attitude that connects it is open, creative and liberating, whilst pessimism focuses on the negative, it is an attitude that disconnects; it is dull, distant and hostile.
The common notion is that optimists are lofty in their thinking, have blind faith and don’t pay any attention to the risks. This is not the full picture, by adopting a positive outlook you concentrate attentively and selectively on the risks that truly concern you rather than fretting vainly and ineffectually over everything. In this way you remain more serene than the pessimists and gather your energies for the real threats. Many studies have shown that optimists do better on exams, in their chosen professions and in their relationships. A study was made of more than 900 people admitted into an American hospital in 1960. Their degree of optimism and other psychological traits were recorded, 40 years later the results showed that optimists lived 19% longer on average than the pessimists. Why is it that being positive allows us to live longer, in better health, and makes us are less prone to depression and suicide? Hope. Optimists believe things will get better, and use their energy to realize their beliefs. Hope is defined by psychologists as the conviction that one can find the means to attain one’s goals and develop the motivation necessary to do so. Hope improves physical performance and makes illness and pain itself more bearable.
The Yoga Expert Always Think on Positive & Have Hope
Optimists draw success into their lives, the success that was hoped for and mentally anticipated. When faced with a drawback, optimists take it in their stride, learn from the experience, find a way of improving and continue to persevere on their goal. However, pessimists don’t have this resolve, if things go wrong a person who dwells on the negative would be swallowed by regret of the past which could spur a depression, this would impede them from moving on and forming a new solution. Pessimists foresee failure in every undertaking and puts off starting altogether, they have a tendency to back away from difficulties and sink into resignation. On the contrary, optimists are not burdened by doubt, they calculate the risks of their undertakings and work on actualizing the opportunities they envision.
Malcolm McOdell has spearheaded NGO projects in Nepal by tapping into the best skills of each community to increase the collective confidence in bringing successful outcomes. This approach systematically changes the outlook of the entire team, motivation comes naturally when we seek to work with our assets, talents and expertise. A positive way of management is to accept the facts for what they are, identify the positive lessons in adversity and come up with an alternative solutions, this will lead you to a new kind of enthusiasm in any endeavor.
The sense of insecurity that afflicts so many of us today is closely tied to pessimism. Martin Seligman claims that pessimists are up to 8 times more likely to become depressed when things go wrong. The pessimist is constantly anticipating disaster and becomes victim to chronic anxiety and doubt. There are people today who consciously prepare for the worst, the end of the world, doomsday, Armageddon- imagine their state of existence, filled with fear, anxiety and dread. One cannot cherish life and what they are blessed with if their mind is incessantly preoccupied with the notion that everything good will be stolen from them. We must understand that we choose our thoughts and that governs our experiences, the darker our thoughts the harder is it to find light in our lives, brighten your mind and celebrate life!
Yoga helps to shift our interpretation of the world, from negative to positive. We begin to appreciate what we have and invoke qualities such as acceptance, openness, softness and thoughtfulness into our life. Acknowledge your potential to transform, our bodies and minds are flexible, with right thinking and positive habits we can shift to become more optimistic, fueling tendencies for lasting peace and fulfillment. In a private yoga setting we can examine what is happening on a thought level. What we learn on the mat is tested when we are off the mat, take these lessons that we learn when dealing with the body, breath and mind and expand them into your daily life. This is real yoga, live your practice.
