What do you think, does thinking good thoughts equate to being happier, more fulfilled, and more productive in life? Or is it just a form of delusion?
If you think about it, any sort of perspective you hold can be called a delusion. Life is certainly no better if you approach it from a cynical or pessimistic perspective. Interestingly enough, however, you can equally line these cynical and pessimistic viewpoints up against an optimistic, positive outlook, and it's the positive outlook that gets the most backlash for being the least realistic, when really, neither of these approaches are even close to resembling the actual picture. It seems that people are more like to line themselves up for being surprised than disappointed if their situation turns out to be the opposite of what they've expected.
Likewise, does a negative attitude make genuinely bad circumstances, worse?
I think a negative attitude breeds more of a negative attitude, the same way a positive attitude breeds more of a positive attitude. Which one is right or wrong in the given moment doesn't really matter. In the end, I think it all boils down to which one is more beneficial in the long term. Whatever the attitude, you're going to be looking for evidence to justify it, and I believe justifying a positive attitude opens you up to more opportunities than trying to build a case for a pessimistic outlook. I'm not saying to buy into the mystical force of the law of attraction by any means here, but I do say that logically, if you look for something, you will find it... sometimes at the expense of not seeing what is in front of you. And if you're in a bad situation, you can't afford to be blinded to opportunities that could resolve the issue.
Some people say you need to be positive in order to acheive anything in life. But what if what you have doesn't justify being positive? At what point does "realism" cross over into pessimism - even cynicism?
And is optimism a natural consequence of success and achievement, or a CAUSE of the same? In other words, do people get things because they are optimistic, or as they optimistic because repeatedly they have gotten things and have learned to expect it?
That's the million dollar question right here. Personally, I think there's a fine line between any one of these points of view. I think you start crossing any of those lines when you choose to exclusively gather evidence for only one perspective over the other at consequence of ignoring the realities of the situation.
Still, if I had to choose between the lesser of the two evils, I'd pick optimism. Like I mentioned above, you're more wont to scanning the horizons for the opportunities you expect than counting the bothersome pebbles in your shoe and sinking into a victim mentality. It's no coincidence that you see more happy people steadily climbing their way to the top than you see depressed people moving at the same momentum. If you act like a victim, everyone treats you like one; and nobody is ever going to put the wounded gazelle as the head of the panel of a pack of wolves. You got to grow some balls and show that you can handle most of the tough situations that comes your way. That's the whole theory behind success, isn't it? You got where you are because you were competent enough to find a solution to the problem, not because you were able to correctly identify the appropriate emotional response.
I think that either point of view is the hand that feeds itself. The more reasons you have for remaining optimistic, the more optimistic you become, and vice versa. Fortunately, these are just lenses that you can look through; the situation itself isn't ever inherently pessimistic or optimistic, good or bad. It's whatever you choose to pay attention to that stands out and colours your perspective. And perspectives themselves are neither right or wrong. They're just choices.
