Definition of Optimism
Why it's Important to be an Optimist

Understand and experience real success by learning the definition of optimism.

We hear it all the time; people advise us to always think positive, to believe that things will work out in the end, because if we do, they surely will. It’s called optimism.

Many people have varied definitions of optimism, although in essence they all mean the same thing: finding something good and beautiful even in bad and seemingly hopeless situations. Young ladies who grew up reading the story of Cinderella will probably give you their own definition of optimism as thus: believing in happy endings and fairy godmothers. It is said that an optimist looks at a doughnut and sees the luscious, delicious part while the pessimist only sees the hole.

Definition of optimism-optimism quotes

Here is how famous people come up with their own definition of optimism and their own optimism quotes:
"Optimism. The doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly." – Ambrose Bierce

"An optimist is a proponent of the doctrine that black is white." - Ambrose Bierce

"The world is the best of all possible worlds, and everything in it is a necessary evil." – Francis H. Bradley

"Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery." – Jane Austen
"My sun sets to rise again." - Robert Browning

Sir Thomas A. Edison pitched in his own definition of optimism by saying how some people miss an otherwise golden opportunity by having a pessimistic attitude: “Many of life’s failures are people who do not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Inspirational writer William Arthur Ward has several interesting definition of optimism one of which makes a distinction on how an optimist and a pessimist each feel about flying a kite. “The optimist pleasantly ponders how high his kite will fly,” Ward wrote as his definition of optimism. “The pessimist woefully wonders how soon his kite will fall.”

Francisco Saraiva, the Assistant Area Governor for Marketing at Toastmasters International and currently the president of Oporto Toastmasters, and a known risk-taker and passive income-generating entrepreneur, wrote about optimism as one of the 10 habits of successful people. Check out this post written by Pedro Camarez, 10 Habits I Found on Most Successful People I Meet.

Why it’s important to be an optimist

Optimism is the stimulus that triggers positive happenings in our lives. It’s the Law of Attraction – positive attracts positive; negative attracts negative. We haven’t met a pessimist person who has succeeded in life. When we believe that the universe is full of good, we open ourselves up for abundance, love and happiness to flow into our lives.

Other than talent, optimism is what usually separates successful men from those wallowing in failures. That’s because it takes a great dose of positive mental attitude to plod on when odds seem stacked against you.

Yet, those who persevere because of the faith that the tide will eventually change get the job done and reap the success they seek. They are so focused on achieving their goals that they don’t have time to dwell on the negative things around them.

What is there to be optimistic about?

Opportunities abound around us in many forms. There are amazing people who have hurdled great challenges to be where they are now and who can be instrumental in attaining our goals. It is only a matter of tapping into these opportunities to realize our own brand of success.

Learned Optimism

In his book, Learned Optimism, Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman said that optimism and pessimism are not built-in responses but learned behaviors. Children are naturally optimists; they only learn to become pessimists after encountering many setbacks in life. Learned pessimism, however, can be unlearned. This is by learning to spot difficult situations in everyday life. The person then identifies his/her reaction to these setbacks, and starts to dispute whatever negative thoughts that come up.

According to Optimist International, an organization with roughly 101,000 members and geared towards conducting positive service projects for the youth, adopting optimism as our philosophy in life will empower our lives and “channel (our) uniqueness to make a difference for a better world.” Clueless as to how optimistic or pessimistic you are? You may take the Optimist Assessment Quiz to gauge your reaction to positive and negative situations that happen in your life. Open the Acrobat file as you follow the link to this revealing quiz.

You may also read and internalize “The Optimist Creed” on latter part of the module to help you exorcise pessimism out of your life for good.