Array of Optimism

“Men,” Says an ancient Greek sentence. “Are tormented with the opinions they have of things and not by the things themselves.”

Many years ago, so the story goes, in an old town road, two men were walking down, trudging away via the broad untarred road which they plied to and from their respective places of work, when of a sudden the windows of heaven opened and it began dripping. The gently pattering rain descended onto the ground, thundering down fisticuffs gridlock, thus, bringing to a grinding halt vehicular movement; making commuting uncharted along the untarred road.

Like a Rat race, the two men took to their heels, but kept their eyes peeled for a place to duck momentarily until the rains subside. Both men looked ahead at a great distance and saw a coffee brewing shop which houses within it walls a heating system to keep her customers warm.

One of those two men muttered under his cold attendant breath, “It’s no use jogging toward that coffee shop, before I’d get close to the shop, I’ll probably be swimming in the pool of this torrential downpour. So then, let me duck under the shade of that Mango tree that is close by me instead.”

Mean while, the other man stride forward with a jolting pace for the coffee shop with all the strength he could muster. He said to himself, “I should get to that coffee shop. Perhaps, I might not be all wet when I get there. And besides, the shop might have a heating system; I will get me a hot mug of coffee; I will be warm, and my cloth will get dried.”

  Both men saw the same coffee brewing shop, but their respective opinions on being sheltered from the rain inside the coffee shop was quite the contrary. Nonetheless, an obvious distinction in thought between the two men is underpinned on their assumptions and expectations.

The first man saw the coffee shop dimly at a great distance. Each step he takes while under the rain, the coffee shop seems to appear farther. But the other man saw that every step he takes while under the rain, the coffee shop seems to appear closer.

When assumptions and expectations are based on favourable outcome, then we are being optimistic. On the other hand, if assumptions and expectations are anchored on negative illusion, self-deception and momentary mental block, then we are quite the pessimist.

In the bid to balance the views of the optimist and the pessimist Ralph Waldo Trine writes: “The optimist is right.  The pessimist is right. The one differs from the other as the light from the dark. Yet both are right. Each is right from his own particular point of view, as this point of view is the determining factor in the life of each.”

In other words, your perspective on the outcome of an event is shaped in your mind by your own assumptions and expectations. Your mind is like an iron ore, which is forged into desired shape and fashion by your thoughts and opinions you have of things.

Also, your mind is like a sponge. You squeeze it hard with your own assumptions and expectations, but not until you can release the pressure and allow the sponge to take its normal shape can it become receptive again.

In my book, “Innovative Mentality: Breaking Free a Bee in Your Bonnet,” I discussed two concepts of human mentality: “The Innovative mentality,” and “The Conservative mentality.” The innovative mentality is a mind-set that is open to new ways of thinking, ideas, change, hope and lofty expectations. While the conservative mentality is a mind-set that opposes change; susceptible to societal standards and paradigms.

Expressed somewhat differently, an individual with an innovative mentality tend to be optimistic: he sees a broad multiplicity of possibilities in all endeavours, while an individual with a conservative mentality tend to be pessimistic: he is pervaded with disillusionment and a grandiose idea of expecting the worst in all endeavours.