Every Little Thing Is Gonna' Be All Right... If You Follow These Four Simple Steps

Being a pessimist, whenever I have to face a challenge in life, the only things that flow through my head are negative thoughts. I do understand that anticipating undesirable outcomes is not good for my physical and mental health so I’m trying to be more optimistic. Here are some tips on how to be optimistic that I use to help myself:

1. Let go of the assumption that you were born with a grey cloud over your head

I hate to break it to you but you’re not the only one who has experienced pain and disappointment! You must realize that you are not alone in this world and there are people who would go out of their way to help you.  Bad things don't just keep happening to you for no reason. The world isn't set up to cause you pain. Every moment and situation is a chance to grow, learn, and overcome obstacles. It may seem like rainy days are upon you, and they are not going away but keep in mind that the best rainbows come after the heaviest storms.

2. Understand that what is in the past is in the past

Sure you might have gone through hard times in the past, but as cliché as it sounds, life does get better! You must learn to leave the past in the past and just focus on the present and the future. Don’t forget the past, just leave it in the past and move on and enjoy the now!

3. As the famous saying goes, “Be the change you want to see”

Stop thinking about all the bad things that are happening to you and start thinking about ways you can change them. Set goals for yourself and use your past experiences to make better decisions. Take chances, make mistakes, and then learn from it.

4. Be a rational optimistic

Don’t act like nothing bad is ever going to happen to you because that can lead to a lot of bad things. Doing this can lead to people using you and poor decisions. Always prepare for the worst and hope for the best and understand that not every day is going to be rainbows and sunshine. 

My Talents Include: Creating the Worst Case Scenarios in My Head and Worrying about Them for Hours

I'm more of a worrior than a warrior. What is a worrior, you ask? Easy. It is a person who worries about everything. I am probably the most pessimistic person you will ever meet. Negativity is the only thing I know. Did a really hard test? You probably failed. Did a really easy test? You probably managed to fail it. It’s a very strange mentality, I know. Always thinking negatively or thinking that you failed. If I think negatively and expect nothing good to happen, if nothing good happens in the end, I won’t be disappointed because I was not expecting anything great. If something good happens in the end, I’ll be shocked but impressed. I’m never setting myself up for disappointment because I never have high expectations for anything.  Instead of thinking about a desired future, I will make up endless scenarios in my head of bad things that could happen and 90% of the time, things end up being fine. In an unusual way, I get my positivity through my negativity. The only downside to this is that it is very stressful. Constantly thinking you did a bad job, you did not try hard enough, can really drain you out both physically and mentally. So that is why I’ve decided to try to be more optimistic. It is going to be hard, but I accept this challenge. College is stressful as it is with assignments after assignments, tests and exams, the last thing I need is more unnecessary stressing. I’m giving up this way of thinking and adopting the optimistic way of life!