Bear with me here. Guess as usual, I don't really know where this is going yet, so let's explore together.
This is a thought that I always had and probably has many more external sources and internal data points, but popped up again most recently 2 times recently (which I am aware off).
Namely [[Bob Iger]]'s podcast with [[Tim Ferriss]] and [[Kevin Kelly]]'s 68 unsolicited advices.
From my markdown writing I guess you can see that I am writing in Roam Research. This is another post itself.
So..
Bob was pointing out multiple times the importance of optimism. And as many cynics immediately say, not in the sense of being unrealistic, rather what's the point of doing anything otherwise, as there is always a chance something could go wrong. But as long as it didn't go wrong, you are still going.
Kevin also brought up too points:
- Being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ points.((hFeCM_foo))
- Over the long term, the future is decided by optimists. To be an optimist you don’t have to ignore all the many problems we create; you just have to imagine improving our capacity to solve problems.
In the end..
...optimism is what gets you out of bed
...optimism and enthusiasm will give you the energy to go further
...when only being negative and low energy, you simply won't go that far, I mean why would you and also you don't see what's possible
...negative news get more attention but no one wants to stick around for that
... humans want dreams and possibilities
...humans are attractor to doers and makers, people who want the world to be better
...you might end up in a leadership position over time and consider this sentiment when leading people
...optimism and being enthusiastic are self fulfilling, like a big smile - either because it actually happens or because of your confirmation/selection bias and filtering
...life is simply also just easier, lighter and happier with that attitude
And even if you are super cynical. Rather see it as a game. Being cynical is associated with being the humour of intelligent people. While I certainly wouldn't say this hits home a 100% of the times, let's assume it's mostly true. So you are intelligent. Shouldn't you rather believe in your ability to find a solutions? Make it a game, whatever you can think off, you need to find a way around.
The fun part is: often when you can just think one step further that's already progress for many, so share that.