“Worrying is thinking negative thoughts about things that are outside of your control.”
-Mel Robbin
The title of today’s post may seem oxymoronic or counterintuitive. Worrying by definition is a negative trait so how can it be optimistic?
Let me elaborate.
DO YOU SPARKLE? CHANCES ARE, BECAUSE TRUE SPARKLE IS RARE, YOU DO AT TIMES BUT NOT ALWAYS. SPARKLE COMES FROM THOSE WHO SHINE FROM THE SOUL. DURING THE WORST OF TIMES THEY FIND IT WITHIN TO REMAIN GROUNDED, HELPING OTHERS.
“Before you ‘assume’, try this crazy method called asking.”
-Unknown
The year is 2000. I’m in high school. The bell has rung and I’m about to go from choir class to Spanish class. Spanish class has two textbooks which my teacher, Mr. Brown, uses interchangeably. Unfortunately, I’m not sure which one is needed for that particular day. Perhaps Mr. Brown had mentioned it the day before and perhaps he hadn’t. I can’t remember.
“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency.”
-Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
How did I go from feeling very optimistic to desolate to optimistic again?
“Future endeavors with superstitions attached to them have the same probability of coming to fruition that anything else does. Either they’ll come to fruition or they won’t. Had they been anything more or less, the world would be a much different place.”
-Excerpt from upcoming short story “Howl of Freedom” by Angie Verhoeven
Are you superstitious?
“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude.”
-Joyce Meyer
In a previous post I had talked about the importance of being patient and how what’s meant to be yours will eventually come to you even if it’s later than expected.
“There is no failure except in no longer trying.”
-Elbert Hubbard
Imagine this scenario: You’re working on a specific project or endeavor and nothing seems to be going right. Every plan, no matter how analytical when conceived, falls apart. You try and try and try and there’s no hope in sight. In short, you feel you have no option left but to give up.
OPTIMISTS IS OUR DAILY WISDOM WORD TODAY. BEING AN OPTIMIST, OR A PERSON WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE ABOUT MOST THINGS, IS SUCH A PLUS IN LIFE. IT IS FAIRLY COMMON TO BE OPTIMISTIC WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG. HOWEVER, AS LIFE PLAYS OUT, AND TOUGH TIMES HAPPEN, IT IS NOT QUITE AS EASY TO BE AN … Read more
It’s the repetition of affirmations that lead to belief. And once that belief becomes a strong conviction, things begin to happen.
-Claude M. Bristol
Sometime last year, I had written a post on self-affirmations. At that time, my posts were still relatively short and brief. With a universal lock-down in place, I have found myself drawing closer to this subject after moving away from it for a while. Hence, I am re-posting part of that article but with new and relevant information and also, my reasons for losing faith in this topic but ultimately coming back to it.
“Look on the bright side, then make it brighter.”
-Unknown
With practically the whole world on lockdown, it’s natural to feel helpless and wonder, is there anything in our control at all?
There is. Emotional growth and connecting with family and friends on a more intimate level.
“It’s the little things that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
-John Wooden
Sweat the small stuff.
If you read that phrase, the first thought you’ll have is, he forgot the “don’t” at the beginning of the sentence. But I didn’t.
“Smiling does not necessarily mean you’re happy. Sometimes it just means you’re strong.”
-Nishan Panwar
In the past, I’ve written a post or two about the power of a smile. I talked about how it could make someone’s day and the psychological effects it can have on you even when you’re not really happy.
Although that post is quite old now, I recently received a message from a new reader who didn’t agree. Their argument was that why should they fake an emotion? Isn’t the norm today to encourage people to speak up if something’s wrong?
“There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why.”
-William Barclay
Today happens to be my birthday. I, like many others, rejoice in getting birthday wishes, the love of family and friends, parties, etc. In short, I love celebrating.
“Future endeavors with superstitions attached to them have the same probability of coming to fruition that anything else does. Either they’ll come to fruition or they won’t. Had they been anything more or less, the world would be a much different place.”
-Excerpt from upcoming short story “Howl of Freedom” by Angie Verhoeven
Are you superstitious?
Even if you don’t believe in the traditional superstitions like Bloody Mary, black cats crossing your path or the bad luck of breaking a mirror, chances are you still are. If you’ve ever said “bless you” to someone after sneezing to prevent their soul from coming out, that’s a superstition. If you’ve ever said something like “I’m crossing my fingers,” that’s a superstition.
“What I think is what I am. If I think I can, I know I can.”
-Neel Trivedi
It’s constantly preached at self-help seminars. Psychologists make it a point to hammer it in. Every type of life coach stresses on the idea: Think positive. But how exactly do we do that?
“Visualization is daydreaming with a purpose.”
-Businessman Bo Bennett
Can you visualize your dreams into reality?
“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude.”
-Joyce Meyer
In a previous post I had talked about the importance of being patient and how what’s meant to be yours will eventually come to you even if it’s later than expected.
“Wherever you are, be there totally.” -Eckhart Tolle What is mindfulness? To me, it’s accepting the current situation you’re in even as you’re aspiring to get out of if it’s negative. I look at it much like the first step to conquering an addiction: Admitting you’re an addict. It’s only after then that you can … Read more
“Worrying is thinking negative thoughts about things that are outside of your control.” -Mel Robbin The title of today’s post may seem oxymoronic or counterintuitive. Worrying by definition is a negative trait so how can it be optimistic? Let me elaborate. There are hundreds of writers, self-help gurus and philosophers who advise us not to … Read more