My father was a guy who was brimming with optimism. I remember that in the nineties they broadcast on Cuban national television a Brazilian soap opera called "Happiness", in which there was a character named Ataxerjes de Sousa who always had "big plans" to become a rich man overnight, while keeping the family excited about his big dreams through fanciful ideas - that never came to fruition - but that never made him lose the desire to achieve them. I would say that more than bragging, he was an extremely optimistic being, because despite that, he did not give up. And since that was more or less my father's personality, we baptized him at home as our own version of the Cuban Ataxerjes.
Far from being bothered, he actually enjoyed it and laughed, especially when he told me how much money he would make when he sold the onions he had planted on 0.3 hectares of land, splitting them with a friend and after paying the commission agreed upon with the owner of the place...🥴...
Basically he did it in his extra time, to support the family economy, because he worked for a state-owned company and also because he liked working in the fields... this happened with his garlic crops, with his pig farming, and with a couple of things he tried to get ahead in his life, our lives... without great successes, but he never gave up and always put into everything he did a passion similar to that of Grand Prix drivers when they press the accelerator of their car many times without measuring the consequences.
This is my contribution to the weekend topics our host Galenkp, made for us.
Optimist or pessimist? Which are you and why? Give some examples.
The real truth is that I would have liked to bring you a cure for hangovers, but I've only had two of them in my fifty years. Both were drinking poor-quality beer from a tap at a fifth-class carnival, and that's why I'm aware that I tend to be a terrible drinker, with great attitudes like a karaoke singer in unknown areas... at least that's what I'm told!
But to put it bluntly, am I like my father?
- No, I'm not really like him.
When I was young, I was very static, just going with the flow of life's natural forces. Let's just say that without plans, there goes not no optimism, not even pessimism. I don't know if you understand; I didn't have a plan, or at least I lived without many expectations, and I didn't worry about building the bridge of my life, or even finding a path. Because why did I need to be optimistic?
I suppose it was the transition of my delayed maturity. Although perhaps I lived complaining, on some occasions, about things, like "my bad luck" without really doing anything real for "it."
There was also the fact that I hated those people who lived complaining about everything, blaming others for their failures or simply because they weren't born with a big star on their forehead... so I didn't have a clear-cut side. It definitely wasn't something I cared much about, much less something I wanted to put my effort into.
I greatly admire those precocious people who set a goal in life early on and poured their hearts out into it, full of optimism... but with real goals filled with sweat and very intelligent and sharp optimism.
Until finally my awakening came, and I understood that optimism is confidence, passion, and tenacity.
Sometimes I think I have TDAH, and that's why I have a little trouble concentrating on certain plans, but once I manage to do it, I become passionate in a way that first reminds me of my father, and second, I am absolutely sure—with great optimism—that it will turn out well.
In other words, I will only be optimistic about things that I believe I can achieve because I have the ability to achieve them.
Being optimistic involves more than a feeling or a need, because as you move forward with your attitude toward your plans, the magnitude of your optimism multiplies.
My approach to optimism is designed to sustain things as viable and possible, and with that mindset, I approach everything in my life. Being optimistic is a personal, educational, and inspirational thing, and I owe that to my father.
I will only take on plans or projects that I love because I know I can face them with the optimism that will allow me to execute them, not without pressure, but with the great interest of achieving important things in my life.
Don't think I'm always jumping for joy with pure optimism, because if you could put it into a graph, optimism also has three facets: euphoria (rise), waiting (plateau), and disappointment (crash)....and all of this can be a long and epic cycle before achieving a good goal.
Over the years, you learn to manage optimism because you know what you're capable of.
If tomorrow I decide to start a new business, it will be because I've done an assessment and a market study in which my optimism will be directly proportional to the expected result.
We can't be optimistic by dancing around magical approaches because life isn't a fairy tale. Optimism is an important emotional element for feeling secure in our space, in our achievements, in our work, in our life.
I am optimistic, but with a margin of dreams that are sustained by real-life circumstances.
If we could take small doses of optimism, people would be more enthusiastic and excited about life. At least every little thing we attempted would be better supported by our spirits and our desires.
Do you think anything is impossible for those who see the bright side of things?
-No.
Simply put, optimism is one of the things that gives us the most strength, resilience, creativity, enthusiasm, and vitality in life. Do I possess all these virtues within my mind? I think so.
A big hug, a good day, a good week, and lots of light for your heart even if you live in a dark part of our planet, and for those on the other side,too
Always very grateful for your reading.
The text is entirely my own
All photos are my property
Translation done with Deep Translate, free versión
