In one of my favorite movies “Contact,” the heroine Ellie, played by Jodie Foster, travels through a worm hole to the planet Vega. There she encounters an alien who has adopted the form of Ellie’s deceased father to make the encounter more comfortable for her – having downloaded her thoughts prior to the encounter.
One comment by the alien has always stuck with me. It reflects the life-view of Carl Sagan, author of the book that the movie is based on... “You're an interesting species. An interesting mix. You're capable of such beautiful dreams, and such horrible nightmares. You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you're not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other.”
The Optimism Project...
On the wall of my office hangs a framed copy of something I wrote earlier this year: “The Optimism Project – 10 Tips To Be More Optimistic” (That’s the image shown in this post). When I wrote the post on optimism, I included a link to a Pdf that could be downloaded and printed on a home computer. I printed a copy out myself, framed it and hung it on the wall next to my office desk.
Every morning I make a point to look at it and scan the 10 Tips to remind myself that there is good and love and beauty and hope in the world. Every morning I try to energize my optimism gene... steel my psyche to confront another day of challenge that is life in 2021... and reaffirm that I have much to be grateful for.
Every morning I know that the news of the day, seemingly every day, will challenge my optimism. Some days I find myself wishing I could escape to the self-absorbed reverie of “The Secret”... shutting out the world and everything that makes me anxious or sad.
But reality has a way of breaking through that artificial reverie to remind me that I must live in this messy world, confront its challenges head-on and proactively overcome my negative thinking – however powerful it may be. As I write in ”EverAgeless: 6 Steps To An Ageless Life,” Step 5 is to TAKE CHARGE of my life. I am responsible for my life – no one else.
So I must be the one to Take Charge and proactively work at building an environment around me in which I can thrive and grow and forever aspire... an environment where I can find meaning and fulfillment. I’m in charge. And that doesn’t work if I’m not optimistic about what the future can hold if I work at it.
So rather than dwell on all the crap that every day threatens to engulf me, I choose to clean it up each morning and start each day with a clean slate on which to write my future. I know I can’t ignore the realities of the day. I don’t want to.
I want to be an active participant in doing my part to make a positive contribution to the world each day. I just want to find the inner strength to be optimistic about what the future will hold. That’s something I can build on each day on my path to an ever-aspiring, ever-ageless life.
Here again are my 10 Tips To Be More Optimistic. I suggest that you download the Pdf, print it out if you can, and find a place where it can start your day every day with a reminder that YOU are in charge... and optimism can be your Red Bull to meet each day’s challenges.
1. Start Every Day Grateful
Keep an “I am grateful for” list. Build it. Review it every morning.
2. Let Go Of What You Can’t Control
Focus on being a better YOU... not on changing other people.
3. See Yourself Doing Positive Stuff
Feel it. Experience it. Make it real in your mind and it can become real.
4. Connect With Positive People
Disconnect from negative people. Build an uplifting community around you.
5. Keep Your Focus On The Positive
Filter news and social media. Find positive work that fulfills you.
6. Set Small, Achievable Goals
Build constant small successes to energize big achievements.
7. Resist Envy And Greed
Appreciate what you have. Don’t agonize over what’s missing.
8. Look ahead.
Embrace The Future Let go of the past. Forgive yourself, and others, for missteps. Move on.
9. Look For Beauty In The World
Art, music, literature – find the wonder in nature. It’s all around you.
10. Find a mantra – An Affirmation
Find a simple phrase that will bring you back to your core positive self.
Dedicate yourself to an optimistic and ageless life at EverAgeless.com