The Power of Optimism

I’m a positive person and optimistic person. It’s who my parents brought me up to be. It’s who they are. I think you’ve got to be in life. You might live longer, but you'll definitely be happier if you are.

But over the last few bizarre and strange days it’s been really difficult to be optimistic, never mind happy. Life has ground to a stop, and the most basic things that many of us took for granted, just last week are, off-limits now, from going for a pub lunch to taking the kids to see grandparents.

As a nation, each night, we’re tuned to the Downing Street press conference and hang on every word of the Chief Scientific and Medical Officers, Chris Whitty, and Sir Patrick Vallance, now household names.  How redundant has the culture of celebrity become in the current crisis?

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious, more for those I care about and love than for myself. These are anxious, difficult and dangerous times for a lot of people in this country, and we must act socially and responsibly to ensure their safety.

Covid-19 has changed our lives and dominates national and global conversation. The reality is that it might for years to come.

However, this will virus will end, and life will continue. I’m not saying as normal, because many people will have lost loves ones, businesses and their livelihoods and there will be as much commiseration as there will be celebration when this thing is over.  

However, the virus has put things in perspective for me and if anything good can come from something so absolutely awful, maybe the crisis will change our views on what we as individuals, and as a society, see as important. Maybe we’ll be kinder, less judgmental, more compassionate and tolerant, less interested in our phones and more in each other, more socially and less individually minded. We’ve got to hope. You've got to be optimistic.

I hope we'll value the doctors and nurses, emergency services and everyone involved in the frontline of this crisis with the respect and admiration, that as a nation we normally hold back for football players or movie stars. You've got to hope.

The picture is of my son Ryan. I love it. I love him and his sister. It epitomises life. It was taken on a summer day on an Ayrshire beach two years ago. He stripped off whilst running down the beach and jumped into the water. My wife caught him mid-jump for the picture. He has the most amazing personality. Happy every minute of the day, optimistic, enthusiastic, inquisitive with an amazing future in front of him. He's a bit like my dad when I think about it. They're both irrepressible and their optimism is a powerful tool in life.

The present might be dark, but it's temporary the future will brighter. Let's take a lesson from Ryan over the coming months.