Changing the Definition

There seems to be a problem with the definition of optimism in today's society. We live in a society that's premised on results. Children go through an education system that assigns them a number. Workers are valued each day by the number of products they can sell, the value of their companies stock, or their net worth of property. To be optimistic in society is to be hopeful that we can attain a greater performance, to receive a better result for the future, an enhanced numerical value that society defines us by. But, this isn't what optimism is about.

The idea of our society is changing so that the concept of being defined by a result isn't sufficient. Society is coming to value the individual, and not the individual's worth, to encourage growing potential, instead of growing workers, and to view each person as a member of global community on the path to something greater instead of another commodity. Optimism is not about finding fullness in a glass of water. It is the idea that people each day are realizing this change and finding it within themselves to be better. Whether it's learning a new skill, facing a fear, anything that continues an individuals growth is achieving a new form of value. I am optimistic that people will realize the individual growth that they can find within themselves each day or find the brilliance in the world around us.

Optimism is knowing that each day can be better, and it can be better for all of us in ways that extend beyond the values that are important to others. Optimism finds value within people every moment and each day.

Forget the Rest

Remembering that we are living for ourselves and that our lives are full of opportunity can sometimes slip us by. This past week for myself has been a torrential hail-storm of essays, assignments, and mid-terms. It's in these moments of stress that I sometimes find myself forgetting to step back and simply forget the rest. Everyone in the world has an opinion on what the right thing is: which path to take, which decision to make, which choice is the best, because as humans we all experience these things. To school it's always about the best grades, the hardest studying, and for those who are capable of it, I give them "props." But the idea that these things are important are simply the ideas of the commons. What really matters, is what matters to you, and what you enjoy in life.

Hence, I implore you to forget the rest. Yes, everyone shares the same ideas and are simply trying to help you a long the way. Though, it seems to me that when you step back, and see the loving friends you have, and the opportunities that lie just around the corner there's no reason to find yourself falling into a single path. If one doesn't work for you, there's always another path waiting to be unveiled. This isn't to say it doesn't require finding, sometimes it takes hard work, but it exists, and it's waiting for you.