This is a freewrite on a tale of two mindsets: Optimism and Pessimism.
I recently saw a video on YouTube. This video was titled a tale of two mindsets, and it showed a man battling with being optimistic and pessimistic.
The revealing thing about this video is the revealed truth that both the pessimist and the optimist have reasons which proffer them validity for their state of mind.
I’ll explain how.
There is so much wrong in the world, enough to make anyone get depressed. In the same vein, there is so much courage, effort and bravery, in the form of kindness, healing, giving, repair and rebirth, that provides us with the hope of the good winning.
Let’s take the case of covid19, for instance. There are days when the rising death toll, the stifling movement restrictions, the food rationing, dwindling finances, the suffocating feeling from being on lockdown, the urge to scream that comes from energetic and accident-prone toddlers, and the uncertainty of life after this plague, makes you wonder if there will ever be a time when you will give a genuine smile, then you go on social media and see some great news.
You see that a friend has successfully given birth to a beautiful baby. You see another friend (finally) making some money online by doing something digital. You receive a call and find out that yet another friend, who was sure that her spouse was wrong for her, has happiness in her voice and she lets you know that she is grateful to God for giving her such a husband. The lockdown forced them to talk and communicate. They are making headway in their marriage. You discover that your toddling niece is teaching you some life lessons through her theatrics (I will share one of such lessons soon).
There is so much wrong in the world. There is so much right in the world.
Sometimes we are optimistic, but we can’t ignore the wrongs in the world. Sometimes we are pessimistic, but we shouldn’t overlook the rights in the world.
The two mindsets, when balanced, show us a third mindset: the realist. The realist has a balanced view of things and situations. The realist is brave, honest, energetic, deliberate and ready.
While life may be a tale of two mindsets, great lives are lived by some form of balancing act. The balancing is in being realistic.
This is a freewrite on a tale of one mindset: Realism.