Does Optimism Exist?

Our day to day life is filled with stress: we force ourselves to wake up in the morning after we’ve hit the snooze button for the 10^th time, we need to get to work on time, some of us parents need to do the morning school drop offs (which includes an additional hour beforehand just to get our kids out of bed, in their uniforms, make sure they eat something in the morning without having a tantrum AND MORE), we need to drive through traffic AND still get to work on time, we need to make time for breakfast OR AT LEAST COFFEE, sit through that terrible meeting, go through the endless day to day tasks, remain professional to unprofessional people, make time for lunch, get through the work day without having a mental breakdown, drive back home through another traffic, force yourself to rest, go to the gym, get your basic hygiene needs met, make time for dinner and Netflix, take good care of your kids, barely get your 8-hour sleep, then do all that again? Are you kidding me?

If I am stuck in that mundane routine, how do I see the light of day with hope and optimism? Honestly, does optimism even exist?

The short answer is: Yes.

The long answer is: Optimism only exists if you create it. It is a mindset, it is a way of thinking, it is a lifestyle of healthy choices, it is constant change and constant growth, it is spirituality, it is faith, it is looking at the bright side, finding the bright side, or creating the bright side. It is not easy, it is hard, but having a mundane life is also hard, so choose your hard.

So, how do I remain optimistic in the midst of my struggles?

Of course, my priorities and what makes me happy might be different than yours but let me tell you about mine.

The main one for me is my faith: remaining connected to my creator, being present during my prayers, and doing a little bit more each day, week, and month to increase my faith because I know that everything in life is temporary, including life itself, and I am grateful for a new chance at life the moment I wake up.

REST is a BIG one for me. Why? Because I am the type of person that will skip rest any time I get the chance to, I will force myself to do extra work, extra tasks, extra chores that I do not even have energy for in the first place. But that’s the person that I am “feni dooda” as they say, I can’t NOT do anything. So, every other day I force myself to rest, and if I forget to slow down, my husband forces me to JUST STOP.

My podcast (and blog) is another one for me. The reason why I started my journey in positive psychology is because I needed to heal myself first and when I found that it worked for me, I knew for a fact that it would work for others too. I also really love helping people, it gives me feelings of hope and worth, so here I am…

Lastly, I am working on a side hustle, this way I have goals to set and achieve, and as you know setting goals is a big step towards success, optimism and happiness. My goals keep me going because I know that once I achieve them, I will be super successful.

Of course, there’s more that keeps me going, and keeps me optimistic. But the whole point is to notice what is going well in my life, and if there’s nothing going well, then to create something that will go well for me in the future, this way I have something to look forward to everyday.