Making the Right Choice between Optimism and Cynicism
Decisions are what map out an individual’s
life. They are the sole determinants of where an individual finally ends up.
Now, these decisions are based on two factors that an individual feels. Every
decision requires detailing out the pros and cons and choosing which prevails
over the other. The choice of making these decisions rest on the quality of
optimism, pessimism, skepticism, and cynicism. While being pessimistic and
cynical seem easy, portraying an optimistic side becomes difficult. However,
without optimism one can hardly progress in their respective fields as being
pessimistic and cynical limits a person’s horizons by wide angles. This article
helps you come out of your shell and embrace the optimistic way to life. It may
be difficult at first but with the right hope in mind and a heart filled with
confidence, be sure to storm through!
Pessimism Vs Cynicism
Before starting the debate on why we must
be optimistic, let us first be clear on why pessimism and cynicism are two
different entities and how the latter dominates over the former when it comes
to the question of harming oneself. When a person is pessimistic about life,
they view how certain situations and decisions can lead to the worst-case
scenarios and ponder over that. A pessimistic person always looks for the “what
can go wrong” side before venturing out on a new adventure; or sometimes even
an old one. Being pessimistic is harmful in every way possible as it causes the
individual to overstress and overthink when all they need to do is take a deep
breath and chill. Pessimism is served with a tonne of other side dishes, i.e,
depression, anxiety, despondency, isolation, and despair. The more one harvests
the pessimistic thoughts inside him, the more these illnesses keep attacking
him and imperialize him as time passes. Thus, one must take steps so that they
do not get buried under these thoughts and attitudes.
On the other hand, a cynic is blatantly
scornful about trusting others. To a cynic, every individual he crosses paths
with performs deeds with the sole cause of self-interest and therefore, must
never be trusted. A cynic can never be hopeful about any situation especially
if it involves the presence of others as for them, trust issues dominate their
entirety. They instantly avoid people who are motivated by ambition and goals
and as a result can never achieve success. Being pessimistic can impact a
person’s life more negatively than cynicism, however, being cynical also gets in
the way of success.
Choosing Optimism
Being optimistic is the process of letting
positivity surround you and look at life through its lens. Having an optimistic
look at life is refreshing and fills the mind with joy and helps keep the body
healthy. However, there is a major difference between being optimistic and
being foolish. One must always consider major possible risks and threats and
have something to fall back on if their decision goes in the wrong direction.
With that being said, let us see why optimism is always the first choice when
it is put side by side with cynicism.
Let us start by elaborating on an everyday
life example. You are tired of your daily 9-5 job and are desperate for a
change. You consider starting your start-up. However, while going through the
research you find 80% of businesses fell. You look at that, think about how
people are going to fail you, and how ultimately you are going to get cheated
on. With that, you brush away your dream and carry on with your boring normal
which only results in getting you frustrated, day in, and day out. But, at
least you did not lose anything, right? Wrong. By being cynical about the
decision, you lost harvesting your effort into your passion project. You lost
the chance of fulfilling your dream and you lost the chance at a happier life.
Being optimistic is risky. It takes a hell of a lot of guts to invest in your
dreams without having a complete guarantee of how things will go. However,
things always have a 50-50 chance of working out too. And with the right amount
of effort, thought and a positive outlook, you can achieve unparalleled levels
of success and finally live the life you always wanted to. All you need to do
is be smart, have a well thought out plan and then, take the risk!
