O is for Optimism

Today’s A-Z Challenge is a brief one but I’m optimistic that tomorrow’s will be longer…

I’m going to share another dictionary definition because I really like this one.  The word optimism comes from the Latin optimum meaning ‘best thing’ and is defined as:

Noun

An inclination to hopefulness and confidence (Yep, got that)

Philosophy 

a) The doctrine, especially as set forth by Leibniz, that this world is the best of all possible worlds (I love that!  No matter how far we travel into space – and time – this is the best world there can be.  If I’ve understood that incorrectly and there are any philosophers who can actually explain that properly, I’d be happy to hear from them)

b) The belief that good must ultimately prevail over evil in the universe (Surely everyone has to believe this or we might as well just give up now??)

I can often get stressed and worried, but no matter how bad things get, I believe that they will get better.  I’m totally optimistic that spring will always follow winter, I will be a published author, live in an awesome house by the coast and lose three stone.  Sometimes, however, this can result in an ostrich approach to problems, where I’m quite happy to bury my head in the sand and assume they’ll just magically disappear.

My optimism also explains why I’m always genuinely surprised every Saturday night when I don’t win the lottery.  Oh well, there’s always next week!

Later note: A few friends have expressed surprise that I’m claiming optimistic tendencies. Apparently, they don’t always come across…

It’s not so much that I think I’m an optimist. I’m actually 90% pessimist and 10% optimist – a Poptimist! It’s more that the optimism is always bubbling underneath all the worries and stresses that come with being a pessimist, so even though I worry that things will turn out badly, the optimism always hopes that every little thing is gonna be alright.