佚名/Anonymous
If you expect something to turn out bad,it probably will.Pessimism is seldom disappoint.But the same principle also works in reverse.If y ou expect good things to happen,they usually do!There seems to be a na tural cause-and-effect relationship between optimism and success.
Optimism and pessimism are both powerful forces,and each of us must choose which we want to shape our outlook and our expectations.There is enough good and bad in everyone's life-ample sorrow and happiness,suff icient joy and pain-to find a rational basis for either optimism or pes simism.We can choose to laugh or cry,bless or curse.It's our decision:From which perspective do we want to view life?Will we look up in hop e or down in despair?
I believe in the upward look.I choose to highlight the positive and slip right over the negative.I am an optimist by choice as much as by n ature.Sure,I know that sorrow exists.I am in my 70s now,and I've liv ed through more than one crisis.But when all is said and done,I find t hat the good in life far outweighs the bad.
An optimistic attitude is not a luxury;it's a necessity.The way yo u look at life will determine how you feel,how you perform,and how wel l you will get along with other people.Conversely,negative thoughts,a ttitudes,and expectations feed on themselves;they become a self-fulfil ling prophecy.Pessimism creates a dismal place where no one wants to li ve.
Years ago,I drove into a service station to get some gas.It was a beautiful day,and I was feeling great.As I walked into the station to pay for the gas,the attendant said to me,"How do you feel?" That seeme d like an odd question,but I felt fine and told him so."You don't look well." he replied.This took me completely by surprise.A little less co nfidently,I told him that I had never felt better.Without hesitation,he continued to tell me how bad I looked and that my skin appeared yello w.
By the time I left the service station,I was feeling a little uneas y.About a block away,I pulled over to the side of the road to look at my face in the mirror.How did I feel?Was I jaundiced?Was everything a ll right?By the time I got home,I was beginning to feel a little queas y.Did I have a bad liver?Had I picked up some rare disease?
The next time I went into that gas station,feeling fine again,I fi gured out what had happened.The place had recently been painted a brigh t,bilious yellow,and the light reflecting off the walls made everyone inside look as though they had hepatitis!I wondered how many other folk s had reacted the way I did.I had let one short conversation with a tot al stranger change my attitude for an entire day.He told me I looked si ck,and before long,I was actually feeling sick.That single negative o bservation had a profound effect on the way I felt and acted.
The only thing more powerful than negativism is a positive affirmati on,a word of optimism and hope.One of the things I am most thankful fo r is the fact that I have grown up in a nation with a grand tradition of optimism.When a whole culture adopts an upward look,incredible things can be accomplished.When the world is seen as a hopeful,positive place,people are empowered to attempt and to achieve.
Optimism doesn't need to be naive.We can be an optimist and still r ecognize that problems exist and that some of them are not dealt with ea sily.But what a difference optimism makes in the attitude of the proble m solver!Optimism diverts our attention away from negativism and channe ls it into positive,constructive thinking.When you're an optimist,you're more concerned with problem-solving than with useless carping about issues.In fact,without optimism,issues as big and ongoing as poverty have no hope of solution.It takes a dreamer-someone with completely op timistic ideas,great persistence,and unlimited confidence-to tackle a problem that big.It's your choice.
如果你預料某事會很糟糕，那麽它很可能真會這樣。悲觀的想法一般都會成真。反之亦然，如果你料想會好運連連，通常也會這樣！樂觀和成功之間似乎有一種天然的因果關係。
樂觀和悲觀都有強大的力量，我們塑造和展望未來，就必須從中作出選擇。每個人的生命中都有很多的幸運或災難——充滿著憂傷和快樂、狂喜和痛苦——不論我們是悲觀還是樂觀，都有充分的理由。我們可以選擇哭或笑、祝福或詛咒，這是我們的決定。選擇用什麽樣的眼光來看待人生，是在希望中昂首闊步，還是在絕望中低頭長歎？
我喜歡展望未來。我選擇注意積極麵，忽視消極麵。我之所以是個樂觀主義者，更多的是因為我的選擇，而非天性。當然，我知道，生命中總存在著悲傷。現在，我已經70多歲了，經曆過太多災難，但當一切塵埃落定，我發現生命中的美好遠多於醜惡。
樂觀的態度並非奢侈品，而是必需品。看待生活的方式決定了你如何去感受、去表現，以及你與他人如何相處。相反，消極的思想、態度和預想也決定了這些，它們成為一種能自我實現的預言。悲觀會使生活陰沉下來，沒有人願意活在其中。
幾年前，我開車去一個加油站加油，那天天氣很晴朗，我心情很好。當我進站付油費時，服務員對我說：“你感覺怎麽樣？”這個問題有些莫名其妙，但我感覺很好，就這樣跟他說了。“你臉色不大好，”他說。我十分驚訝，於是，我告訴他，我確實感覺不錯，但已不再信心十足了。他繼續滿懷信心說我的臉色如何不好，連皮膚都發黃了。
我心神不寧地離開加油站，開了一個街區後，把車停在路邊，照著鏡子看看自己的臉。我怎麽了？是不是得了黃疸病了？沒什麽事吧？回到家時，我開始想吐了，我的肝髒是不是出了問題？我不會染上什麽怪病了吧？
我再次去那個加油站時，感覺還是很好，也明白了究竟是怎麽一回事。這個地方最近塗了一種明亮、像膽Ö的黃色油漆，燈光從牆上反射過來，讓裏麵的人看起來像是得了肝炎。我想，不知道有多少人的臉色看起來也和我一樣呢。我的心情因為與一個陌生人的短暫交談，整整改變了一天。他告訴我，我看起來像生病了，而後不久，我真的感覺不舒服。這個僅僅是因為表麵觀察而匆忙下的消極結論，卻深刻地影響了我的感受和行為。
唯一能戰勝消極看法的就是一個積極肯定的態度，樂觀、充滿希望的一句話。最讓我欣慰的是，我是在一個有著樂觀主義光榮傳統的國度裏成長的，當整體文化積極向上時，再難以置信的事也能完成。當人們以樂觀積極的態度看待這個世界時，就會更有力量實現目標。
樂觀未必就意味著天真，我們可以在樂觀的同時，仍意識到存在的問題——有些問題甚至很難解決。但是，樂觀使解決問題的態度有所不同，它使我們把注意力從消極轉向積極、有建設性的思考上。如果你是一個樂觀主義者，會更在意解決問題而不是怨天尤人——這樣做毫無價值。事實上，如果沒有樂觀主義精神，一些諸如貧窮這類嚴重而且持久的問題，就毫無希望解決，它需要一個夢想家——一個擁有絕對樂觀、矢誌不渝、堅定信念的人——來解決這個巨大的問題。樂觀，或是悲觀，在於你的選擇。