Many of us choose to remain in an optimistic “mode” much of the time and others choose the pessimism route. I am here to tell you that they are both great ways to live as long as you don’t remain at one extreme or another. For today, let’s touch on the gifts that pessimism brings. As you have experienced many times in your life, things don’t always go as planned or turn out the way you expect them to or the way that you wish that they might. That is just life.
We as animals are always making sure that we are safe…above ALL ELSE. We have a Limbic system in our brain that has been serving us by keeping us safe for 1,00000000 years! So, for you pessimists out there, time to thank your amazing brain and recognize it’s gift by keeping you safe from harm.
Once we are relatively safe however, time to move from the bottom of the happiness/contentment scale and enjoy being present in the moment and begin enjoying the wonderful things around you. The gift is that you come from negativity and you get to experience the elation of moving to the other end of the spectrum and find joy/contentment/pleasure. You experience way more than the optimist who is closer to those positive feelings on a momentary or daily basis. Pessimists get to enjoy the big increases on the happiness scale compared to the small changes for the optimist.
So…pessimists unite. Know that you get to fully revel in the positivity of being who you are!
The trick is to make sure that once you identify the negative aspects of a situation, determine that you are safe, it is time to clear your heart of the negative thoughts and allow yourself to safely enjoy the positive.
What negative thoughts can you be thankful for…ones that keep you safe?
What physical change in your body could you make to acknowledge moving from the negative state to a positive one?
What can you focus on to increase your experience of moving from negative thought to positive state?