Mental Strength Through Perspective

Practice two types of optimism

Author and optimism expert, Lucy MacDonald, said,?"Optimism doesn't solve all of life's problems,?but sometimes, it means the difference?between coping and collapsing."?

So true. And it's prevalent in mentally strong people.?But not all optimism is created equal.?There are two forms,?both of which you can incorporate into your outlook.?First, direct optimism.?This means maintaining a positive outlook?no matter the circumstances.?To help me practice this,?I keep a powerful quote on my desk,?known in some circles as the Attitude Anthem, which says,?"Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you react to it."?It reminds me that attitude is a choice.?

By the way, ensuring your attitude includes gratitude?is an extra mental strength booster,?because gratitude firmly focuses you?on all the things you have versus weekly drifting off?into obsession over what you don't.?But let's be honest, keeping up direct optimism?at all times can be hard, and that's okay.?

That's where another form comes in,?known as dormant optimism.?Here, you actually give yourself permission?to be pessimistic in the face of difficult circumstances?that are likely to persist for a while.?At the same time, you preserve some optimism?to be accessed later.?As you know you can handle the adversity,?you have before, after all,?and that you'll ultimately be better for it.?

For example, as the COVID pandemic wore on,?many struggled to maintain direct optimism,?a consistently sunny outlook, given the depth, breadth,?and length of the negative impact the pandemic created.?That included me,?even though I consider myself mentally strong.?As a coping mechanism,?I embraced the reality of all the negative things happening?that would likely continue to happen for some time?and allowed myself to feel pessimism.?

At the same time, I drew on a belief that,?based on experience, things would eventually get better?and that I'd ultimately be better for it in some ways,?dormant optimism.?Research among mentally strong people confirmed?I was far from alone in my approach to dealing?with the prolonged hardship.?Our resilience gets punctured when we're not realistic.?That in some scenarios, bad things will continue to happen,?at least for a time.?The idea here is to not let that exhaust you?but to strengthen your resolve instead.?

Remembering that resilience and mental strength?comes from enduring negative events?and molding them into positive outcomes.?So with a dash of direct and a helping of dormant optimism,?you have a recipe for increased mental strength.