The Challenge of Optimism

I am a recovering pessimist.

I have always had a tendency to assume that the worst-case scenario is likely to occur. I've been going through some personal relationship struggles, and I fell pretty quickly into a negative shame spiral. I'm realizing, however, that all this negativity has gotten me nowhere. I'm working on laughing at myself more and having more fun.

After all, as they say in Rocky Horror, time is fleeting.

I'm working on being the best person I can be, on moving beyond mediocrity. I need to take time to enjoy the little things - after all, even something inherently pointless (like building the tallest celery tower) can be fun in the moment. Maybe in some ways I've been so focused on trying to be successful in my professional and personal life that I'm missing the purpose of living in the first place.

I've been getting into positive psychology lately. It's funny, because I hated the psychology class I took in undergrad, but focusing on positive emotions is important to me right now. For anyone who's interested, I recommend this website: Authentic Happiness. It's the homepage of Dr. Martin Seligman, who founded positive psychology. It's all about awareness of self, of figuring out your own strengths and focusing on finding happiness.

I know this is different from what I usually post. At the same time, though, my critique of things I see going on around me has always been based on the idea that we all can do better. I know I'm sure as hell trying.