We all know life is full of ups and downs, and being able to stay optimistic will help you get through a lot of tough times. But many are ignorant of what optimism really means.
It is actually not about seeing rainbows or colorful butterflies all around you, but rather it allows us to learn from situations around us, find the positive no matter how small and see new opportunities all the time no matter how difficult.
Optimism is often seen as an instinct that a person is born with and grows with, but in fact it is only an acquired skill that anyone can develop and enjoy its positive effects.
So what is this skill? What is its importance? Are there ways to help you acquire it? This is what we are going to talk about in this article, so keep reading!
What is the skill of optimism?
The skill of optimism expresses a person's ability to have hope and confidence in the outcome of a situation, no matter how difficult it may seem. An optimist can extract positive aspects from all kinds of situations. He always tends to believe that this difficult situation will produce positive results more than he believes that the result will be negative.
When you are an optimist, the way you deal with things around you will be different:
- You will accept the fact that you cannot control every situation around you, and that you are instead able to control the way you think and deal with these situations.
- When you have a problem, you will likely focus on how to solve it, rather than trying to control the feelings and emotions that arise from it.
- You will view your obstacles as the result of specific circumstances and factors and not because the whole world is against you.
What is the importance of optimism?
Optimists believe in the fact that any situation around us can change, giving them the ability to move forward. Not only that, there are many important links between optimism and good health. Various studies conducted over the years have shown that optimistic behavior can lead to:
- Increase commitment to other healthy behaviors such as exercise and balanced food.
- Avoid unhealthy habits and harmful behaviors such as smoking.
- Increase sleep quality.
- Enhance the ability to deal with stress and obstacles in life.
- Expand your network, since people generally prefer to spend time with optimists rather than pessimists.