Comments on: Being Optimistic

By: Carnival of Sales & Management Success - September 11, 2007 « Brad M. Trnavsky - Sales & Management Blogger

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:32:00 +0000

[...] Gary van Warmerdam presents Being Optimistic With Awareness posted at Happiness, saying, “In the best selling book Good To Great Jim Collins advises us of the perils of being optimistic. That same awareness can serve us in other areas of our life as well. The key is to have the awareness to discern the good optimism from the dangerous optimism.” [...]

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:55:18 +0000

Nick,,,,

I agree that what I am advocating is pragmatism. I’m also pointing out that it is often missed by people following the hype of optimism.

I’ll agree with you that most emotions are created by the disparity between their imagination and reality. However not all of them. When you gain mastery over your mind you can dispense with misplaced expectations. You can also generate your emotions at will, just out of choice to do so. In that way you can be happy all the time.

By: Patricia - Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker

Patricia - Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:32:09 +0000

My philosophy has always been to take what life throws at you and make the most out of it. Call it what you will. It works for me. My life has not been easy. I am thankful for the challenges that I have survived. I am a stronger, more compassionate person because of the challenges.

By: Engineer Your Own Happiness: Carnival of Positivity No. 5 « Lemonade Stand

Engineer Your Own Happiness: Carnival of Positivity No. 5 « Lemonade Stand — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:09:33 +0000

[...] Gary van Warmerdam presents Don’t Be Optimistic posted at Happiness, saying, “The key is to have the awareness to discern the good optimism from the dangerous optimism.” [...]

By: Nick Pagan

Nick Pagan — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:04:26 +0000

I agree with the content of your article only I would simply refer to what you write of as pragmatism. We do best by looking at our reality straight in the face, by discovering the true cause of our problems (not the ‘in your face’ symptoms) and by creating solutions that come forth from what we find ourselves capable of doing right now and not when our ship comes in.

All emotions derive from the difference between our desired results and our results in reality. When a real result does not match our desire then we feel negative emotions. When a real result exceeds our desires then we feel unexpectedly positive emotions. Since most people spend their time feeling bad you can quickly guess how realistic most people’s desires are.

By: pinkblocks - personal power and self help » Blog Carnival on Personal Power August 19, 2007

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 09:41:13 +0000

[...] Gary van Warmerdam presents Don’t Be Optimistic posted at Happiness. [...]

By: Life Insurance Lowdown » Blog Archive » Carnival of Life, Happiness & Meaning #13

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 07:43:00 +0000

[...] Gary van Warmerdam presents Don’t Be Optimistic posted at Happiness. In the best selling book Good To Great Jim Collins advises us of the perils of being optimistic. The key is to have the awareness to discern the good optimism from the dangerous optimism. Awareness keeps you from ending up in emotional denial and making poor choices for your life. [...]

By: Gary

Gary — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:54:31 +0000

Part of my not so clear point is that there are different kinds of optimism. Jim Collins calls it the Stockdale Paradox. Having the awareness to notice the difference is what will make the difference in your endeavors.

By: Today is that Day

Today is that Day — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:20:34 +0000

Gary,

You bring up some great points in this post, and I agree that there are people out there who are “blindly optimistic”. However, true optimism is not characterized by hoping for the best, but rather being optimistic REGARDLESS of the situation.

Certainly being tortured is a lot harder to be optimistic about than dodging potholes while driving down the road, but optimism is about making the most of a situation, not ignoring the fact that the situation exists.

Those are 2 different concepts. Ignoring the potholes or the torture will not make those things go away, but keeping a strong spirit and a belief that all will be well in the end is what optimism is really about.

- Aaron