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8.17.2010

optimism sucks

being an optimist is tough. let's be honest...being happy/positive is tough to do in a world that is so incredibly messed up. you ever notice that when you're in a good mood/having a good day...you're an optimist? but let's say you've had a crappy day, nothing has gone right...all you want to do is slap an optimist in the face and scream, "be realistic!" right? oh..well for me that's how it is.

best example i can give: a typical sunday - i get to sleep in, i don't have to go the gym to lift, most sundays are an off day of running, so i basically get to be lazy. i wake up as late as possible, shower/get ready, listen to music, go to church, spend quality time with my wife and see some family. life is at an 11, so i'm an optimist. then comes monday...i'm still holding strong to my optimistic thought pattern and still feeling the "sunday high," but i start to have a few pessimistic thoughts and let the little things start to get me. and then on tuesday something happens at your workplace that sets you off and there it went. remember what it was like to be optimistic? me freakin' too.

so, my question is this: why is it SO hard to be an optimist, consistently? is it really because the world sucks? that seems like a cop out. is it really because our lives are so hard? doubt it. i know some people have it rough, so maybe that's legit. but could it be that it's just plain impossible to be optimistic everyday? maybe? does it really matter, tony? not really? why so many questions? i don't know. probably the same reason a kid on a bike came up to me at work today and fired of these brain busters, "what are you doing? why are you just sitting in your truck? what are those cones for? are you going to the pool today?"

ultimately, i just want to figure out how to be an optimist, all the time. i guess i'll still call myself an optimist...but there are plenty of days where i suck at it. does that make me a hypocrite? crap.

3 comments:

  1. I love your post. I want to be an optimist, too. Some days I am; some days I am far from it. On days when things are bad, and I am upset, I actually find myself upset that I am upset. Irony?

    The good news is that I’m committed to finding a way to snap out of a bad mood. When I find the secret I’ll be sure to pass it on (possibly in the form of a new self-help book featured on every daytime talk show ever, which will bring in a fortune, ensuring that I stay totally optimistic about everything, because I have a zillion dollars, and it will sell more copies than any other book ever, except the Bible, because … well, we all know not to go there).

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  2. Good question, Tony. I really do try to be an optimist about everything. And just when I believe I have conquered the evil giant known as pessimism, he throws something at me that knocks be back a few paces. That is when I have to load up the slingshot with another stone and start over! : )

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  3. Okay, so my question is, what do you say to the person who says, "It's not about being happy, it's about survival?"

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