Optimism Vs. Pessimism

By: Nancy Abiera

 

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfi lled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12

Happy New Year-2021!!! Goodbye Year-2020 (Covid-19 too) !!! Let us all welcome and cheer Optimism as a great choice for 2021 with new perspectives that could be our GPS for the present and future. Pessimism is a dead end while optimism opens many opportunities: hope previewing faith…while developing character…giving fruits as resilience… as well as courage to victory: spirit, soul and body.

We need to be very mindful of every decision attached to our emotions that dictates the directions of our lives that produce actions sowed as we reap our destiny. This can be DEADLY (Decisions, Emotions, Actions, Destiny/ies, Lifestyle, Yippee (+)/Yucky (-); good or bad. This can abort/ kill dreams/ambitions in life. Whereas on the positive side, this can usher us through the inevitable highs and lows of life yet still thrive. Trials can turn to triumph…test to testimonies…mess to message…disappointments to new appointments…etc.

Optimism is key to successful survival and living precisely because there are so many humps and bumps that can go wrong, frivolous or disastrous, setbacks and upsets which come along in the territory of life. We can choose to be better than be bitter.

The good news is that the challenges/struggles stretch us to develop muscles to exercise in life. Everything that happens to us good or bad, or even ugly can be “stepping stones” for learning to persevere and by being resilient as we grow in maturity/fullness. Mistakes then become lessons. Be mindful that a negative experience can be a blessing in disguise unless we react in the negative. We can use it as a platform and learn great lessons. Moreover, as we embrace tragedies with faith and courage, we can use such as fuels and empower us to step in boldly as well as step on them elevating us.

I love this story of a donkey that fell on a deep hole. He was so traumatized that he kept screaming at the top of his voice for help. Many tried but there was no way anyone could rescue him. To cut the long agony, people decided to bury the donkey alive; shoveled dirt and end his misery. The donkey kept screaming until he realized that as he was moving and shaking, the dirt settles down. He continued shaking the dirt off without stop. A few hours later, to everybody’s surprise, the donkey came out of the old hole now all covered with dirt. He shook and stepped on the same dirt meant to bury him.

No matter what dirt or problems come our way, we can choose to keep them to the point of paralysis or shake them off and be free to move on with life. Optimism and hope are cousins when combined bring about a great force of inspiration that fuels our energy to dream and realize even the impossible. Hope is likened to an antidote against the all-consuming virus called pessimism. Optimism brings health and strength; builds purpose, and motivates our spirits. Hope is birthed deep within our passion, desire, and longing. It comes to life when someone wants something so much that it becomes the only other fi nal and ultimate option.

Hope is life transforming overcoming even the worst scenarios. It is mindfully making choices with positive attitude and determined lifestyle. Hope is an equal opportunity thing that transcends gender, age, race, socioeconomic status, etc. Miracles still happen when we believe and we therefore receive using the spark of hope to light the fl ame to success. Yes, we may have lost so many things, even people yet we are still here breathing and very much alive. Thank God. Let us not whine despairing with hopelessness but have the optimistic determination to hope and win in the year 2021.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affl iction, and faithful in prayer.”

Romans 12:12

Always choose “On A Bright Side” moving further and farther “On A Brightest Side”. I love you readers with the love of the Lord yet the Lord loves you the most. You are so loved, anointed, blessed and favored. Smile and be a blessing!

Rev. Nancy H. Abiera