Winning the Battle Over Pessimism
Earlier on LastYear.TV, I wrote about not having time for fear in 2012. Another thing I’m not making time for in 2012 is pessimism.
Some people say pessimism is the natural state of human existence and optimism has to be cultivated. I’m not so sure that’s true. I tend to think everything is going to work out fine far more often than I worry it won’t. Still, there are times when a pessimistic attitude drops into my lap giving me two choices: roll with it or get it out of the way.
I’m in the first week of a new project called GadgetReport.TV. It’s fun, it’s hard, it’s lonely, and I know I can only take it so far on my own.
Here’s an analogy…
The top of the mountain I’m climbing looks amazing! I remember all the good times I had the last time I was up there. I just started climbing it after falling down it. Things are different now. I have aches from the injuries I got in the fall. I’m older. I don’t have a climbing partner.
There’s something to be said about setting up camp at the base of the mountain. People need supplies. Maybe I should stay down here and open a store for other people who want to climb the mountain. Maybe it’s time for me to move away from the mountain and give up on this whole idea of climbing mountains.
The thing is, though, I remember the climb. I remember surviving without many supplies. I remember the little victories as we climbed higher and higher. I remember finding abundance. I really need to get back up there just to prove to myself I can. Plus the view is spectacular!
Pessimism is a state we enter when we start thinking about all the reasons something won’t work, shouldn’t work, or can’t work. Ultimately, pessimism is a waste of time. Doing the work to make something happen has so many unanticipated rewards. The ultimate outcome might be what we hope for when we start, but ultimately life is about the climb.
Pessimism often seems rational. It feels like we’re protecting ourselves by thinking through all that could go wrong so we can avoid getting hurt. Ultimately it is the pessimism that hurts. It keeps us from moving forward.
Here are 4 Things I Do to Stop Pessimism
Regard pessimism as an enemy, not a friend
I think of my mind as a party where thoughts come for fun. If pessimism shows up at the thought party, I don’t hang with it!
Have roll models that counter my self-doubt
When my brain tries to tell me why I can’t do something I want to do, I have a list of people who have done something like what I want to do while having the same types of limitations. If he or she did this, so can I.
Take a laugh break
Pessimism will drag you down to defeat and depression if you let it. If I start experiencing self-doubt, I change the subject and change my brain chemistry by going to websites like Damn You Auto Correct and Awkward Family Photos. If you can start to LOL, all those great brain chemicals are released into your system and it empowers you to overcome the negativity.
Get back to work on the goal
Pessimism is like quick sand. I see it, walk around it, remember role models, laugh out loud, and then I get back to doing things that have to get done in order for me to get where I want to go.
It’s 2012 and there’s no time to waste imagining all the reasons we can’t do what we want. Our focus has to be pursuing exactly what we want with an expectation winning.
