marți, 7 octombrie 2008

about positive thinking

Life is a trip across an ocean with no map to show the way. It only reveals what you have already passed: that is you know what lies behind, yet only fumble through what is ahead. Even so, every sailor comes with their personal approach on travelling. Although, as previously stated, there is no a map to show the way to the destination, the beauty of the trip lies in discovering step by step the mysteries of life. This can be done in different manners, but what counts most is the attitude you do it with. Along the years more and more people have encouraged positive thinking as the “best way to travel by”. However, they never mention how far should this optimism go, to what limit can we only see the full half of the glass?
The way a sea trip involves not only the sailor, but also the boat, the weather, the crew and so on, life is not just about us, but our relationships, family, carrier, society, etc. Firstly, I believe that our relationships, be it with friends or family, are those that influence us most. Therefore, extra optimism developed in this field can cause a lot of damage. When our soul encounters pain, or sorrow, optimism will automatically lead to denial. At first it would be okay, however, the more we deny our feelings, claiming the opposite of what we feel, the more we cover and bury reality somewhere inside. We then, no longer conceive reality as it is, but as fragile as we have created it. Positive thinking should help one go through the struggle, and not avoid it, because pending problems will stack up and reveal themselves with greater intensity than before; and then, optimism will be hard to find.
More than that, one does not only struggle with emotions, but also with critical issues such as business decisions, where pragmatism is crucial. Here, positive thinking is considerable, as long as it holds a certain perspective: that of seeking opportunities, increasing the level of development, and offering a clearer, rational view of the situation. When optimism goes beyond this, it can lead to destruction. Think about a manager’s view of life as: “any choice is the right choice, no matter the consequences, it will end up somewhere, and we will manage.” I doubt he will get any far. Yet, there are people who believe so.
Nevertheless, optimism doesn’t reveal itself only in particular cases; it can be a way of life. After all, our attitude is something that is part of us; we belong to a system, a society, therefore, the way we act is in keeping with our view of life. None of us is alone, we share a world and a history; being too optimistic can often lead to ignorance. What if no one would care about global warming, pollution, natural resources and other things that influence all of us?
On the whole, positive thinking is not the issue; even more, it is a great thing to apply in one’s life. However, as with any other aspects of our lives, if taken to extremes, optimism will eventually lead to destruction. Our journey across the ocean of life can be the most fascinating adventure if we manage to adjust our sails to always reach the destination, regardless of the direction of the wind.

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