It’s common to see optimism as foolishness. Because
not everything “works out”—at least, not the way we pictured it.
Our specific hopes and dreams may turn out to have been, well, incorrect.
Oh, no, not that!
But Trust is about more than wishing for something specific and then getting mad at a world that doesn’t deliver what you ordered.
Trust, or a clearer definition of Optimism, is about the bigger picture.
It’s also the belief that your own behavior can change some things—like putting on your seat belt to prevent serious injury should there be an accident.
It’s not the blind belief that you are immune to the actions of others (like
the other driver who ran the red light).
In fact, despite rumors to the contrary, optimists are folks who are willing to do the hard work to prove themselves right—and accept when
the outcome they visualized might have to be altered.
Yes, Positive Thinking does rely on hope to some extent—but it doesn’t omit personal responsibility.
All Will Be Well.
Somehow.
All Will Be Well does not absolve us of all responsibility to do our best,
or to learn from mistakes. It’s just meant to address the needless anxiety and doubt that comes after we’ve done all we can do, learned from it, and fixed what we can.
And then…choosing (gulp) optimism.
Yes, optimism. All Will Be Well. Just maybe not the way I expected it
to be.
- excerpt from Happier Made Simple: Chapter Five, T is for Trust.
Constant happiness has never been the goal of my book – or, indeed, of life. I state that right away in the first chapter, and in the subtitle: 