Article on An Optimist Sees the Donut, a Pessimist Sees the Hole

Article on An Optimist Sees the Donut, a Pessimist Sees the Hole : All of us have a destined role here. And to do our assigned job successfully, we should not mind changing ourselves from time to time. Let’s change to make a change. But instead of thinking of the results of our action all the while, we should go on doing hard with all our motivation. As someone said, ‘if you focus on results, you never change. If you focus on change, you will get results’. Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but buy how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, event, and outcomes. It is a catalyst; a spark that creates extraordinary results. As they say, an optimist sees the donut, while a pessimist sees only the hole.

Article on An Optimist Sees the Donut, a Pessimist Sees the Hole

All of us have a destined role here. And to do our assigned job successfully, we should not mind changing ourselves from time to time. Let’s change to make a change. But instead of thinking of the results of our action all the while, we should go on doing hard with all our motivation. As someone said, ‘if you focus on results, you never change. If you focus on change, you will get results’.

Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but buy how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, event, and outcomes. It is a catalyst; a spark that creates extraordinary results. As they say, an optimist sees the donut, while a pessimist sees only the hole.

Similarly, two prisoners look out from the prison cell. One looks at the mud below, the other looks at the moon above. The classic story of attitude towards life being two persons defining ‘a half glass of water’ as half full and half empty, first reflecting a positive outlook, the second evincing a negative one.

Bryan Dyson, former CEO of Coca Cola, once similarly exhorted to imagine our life as a game in which were juggling some five balls in the air. They are work, family, health, friends and spirit. And we are keeping all of these in the air. We will soon understand that work is like a rubber ball. If we drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls i.e., family, friends, health and spirit-are made of glass. If we drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same again. We must understand the lesson here and carry on with our life accordingly otherwise we would only end up slogging like a donkey without any fun in our life.

We ought to work efficiently during office hours and leave on time. We must give the required time to our family, friends and other important things of life we love and value. We ought to have proper rest and relaxation. Value has a value only it its value is valued wisely. ‘Love your job but never fall in love your company because you never know when it stops loving you’, rightly said Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

Most of us take our self too seriously. We should not think that somehow we should be protected from misfortune that befalls other people. We should remember that hard times are like a washing machine. They twist, turn and knock us around, but in the end we come out cleaner, brighter and better than before. A tiger takes one step back before it jumps forward. So whenever life pulls us back, we need not worry. It is going to lead us to a grand victory. An arrow can be thrown only by pulling it back. So when life is pulling us back with difficulties, it means it is going to launch us into victory.

We will be able to do many great things, but only if we allow ourselves to discover and pursue life’s goals with all our dedication and devotion. And allow other human beings to access us for the many gifts we process We will experience a painful sharpening from time to time life a pencil, by going through various problems, but we will need it to become a stronger person. We will be able to correct mistake we might make or grow through them. The most important part of us will always be what is on the inside like in a pencil. On every surface we walk, we must leave our mark as a pencil does. No matter what the situation, we must continue to persevere positively and steadfastly.

Destiny upsets our plans, only to set up his plan for us. Because we see our present and plan for our future, but God sees our future and plans our present. As they say, if things happen our for our way it is good. But if it does not happen our way it is better because that’s happening God’s way. Once I asked life, ‘Why are you so difficult?’ Life smiled and said,’ I am not so difficult.’ But that does not make us a fatalist. That’s just one of the ways to avoid negativity and despondency in our life to stay on our path to pursue our goals. Once in a while, we should allow our self to go through a rough patch, which may include a series of failures, a bout of humiliations and a slew of deceptions or duplicitous/ deceitful behaviour by our near and dear ones.

Such things are necessary in life as the same allow us to indulge in deep introspection and genuine self-analysis. Such an exercise often results in the change of our strategies, our world-view, our vision, our priorities, our values, our perception of the people and the world around us, something which is very necessary for our continued survival and our dogged, but dignified living. We should not ask God to save us from problems; rather we should ask Him to give us enough strength and capacity to face these problems with confidence.

As Victor Hugo [in Les Miserables] said, ‘Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise’. But we should make it a point not to be overly overwhelmed with sadness or sorrow because of our occasional problems. If we keep our eyes clouded with tears, an opportunity may be lost. So we should keep our vision clear. A blind person asked Swami Vivekananda, ‘Can there be anything worse than losing the eyesight’. The Swami replied, ‘Yes, losing your vision’. Life is like a flowing river, full of opportunities. It is up to us as to whether we stand with a bucket or a spoon.

Success introduces us to the world and failure introduces the world to us. When we rise, our friends know who we are. When we fall down, we know who our friends are. We should never forget to respect, honour and pray for those who helped us in our bad times. We should also be thankful to bad times for showing us those who are our real friends. When flood comes, the fish eat ants. But when water dries, the ants eat fish. Life gives chance to everyone. We should just wait for our turn. But all this while, when we face problems, sorrows and failures, we should always stay positive. It is a positive outlook which makes all the difference in our life.

If we can’t find the brighter side of our life, then we must learn to polish the darker side. Adjustment of attitude is the only instrument to live a life. Life is the way we look at it. Being happy does not mean that everything is perfect. It just means that we have decided to look beyond the imperfections. Shakespeare rightly said, ‘laughing faces do not mean that there is absence of sorrow. But it means that they have the ability to deal with it’.