An Optimist’s Manifesto

I consider I’ve been mostly optimistic for the last 4 years. Although I cannot recall what triggered this change, it has certainly had a compounding effect to build, what I consider to be, a better me.

Fundamentally, optimism is an attitude towards life. It is a willingness to interpret reality for its opportunities, rather than its constraints. Willingness is key, because without it, the effort is not conscious enough and may result in one falling prey to pessimism.

In my personal experience, pessimism is the default-mode mechanism in our human psyche. Slipping into the loop of a negative narrative is the path of least resistance, whereas building the mindfulness required to willingly shape your own narrative takes effort and practice.

My favorite characteristic of optimism is that it acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy. It brings with it a myriad of behavioral enablers that create a virtuous momentum. These include, but are not limited to, perseverance, opportunism, problem-solving, proactivity, planning, enthusiasm, and passion.

These can be so powerful in changing the way one approaches life and looks at everything there is to be done in it, that, just by chance, often result in better outcomes.

I like to use the analogy of life being like playing an infinite darts game (bear with me), more than a traditional poker game (a commonly used metaphor), and I’ll delve into why.

Poker is a closed system in which there are a limited number of cards. There is no way — apart from cheating — into increasing your chances of winning once a hand has been dealt, since all cards are now fixed.

This version of a darts game that I’m proposing, on the other hand, works similarly to a traditional darts game, but there are no real constraints on the number of darts you can throw. Every time you miss, however, can either be seen as a disappointment, leading to renunciation, or as a simple try, and you can grab another dart and try again. Even better, every time you miss can be seen as practice to get better at throwing darts.

Pessimism can easily lead oneself to take a sit and quit after a few throws, but optimism, living by the mantra that there is always an opportunity, drives oneself to keep trying, eventually making the bulls-eye.

Optimism is not the belief that the future will be better, just because. It is the belief that there is an opportunity today and tomorrow, always, and it’s worth trying to take it.