The Audacity of Optimism

“Optimism is a political act. Those who benefit from the status quo are perfectly happy for us to think nothing is going to get any better. In fact, these days, cynicism is obedience.” -Alex Steffen

We live in a time when negative is the norm, criticism is the culture, and apathy anesthetizes us from the things that matter. The most radical and rebellious choice you can make is optimism. 

Optimism has been misunderstood, mischaracterized, and misrepresented -- perhaps most prolifically by those whose aim is to prevent this powerful force from moving us forward. It is not just positive thinking, feel-good attitudes, or rose colored glasses. It is more than peace, love, and lollipops. (Although I do love all of those things.) Optimism is the ability to envision a better future and the fortitude to forge a way there. 

Optimism is a disruptive force. It’s a hard choice. It’s a brave act. It’s a daily discipline. And it is most needed in the face of fear, failure, apathy, and despair. It’s about challenging old assumptions and thinking creatively. It is refusing to settle for less; taking greater risks for the greater good. It’s about learning to think critically in order to act constructively. It is stubborn. It is audacious. And it is absolutely ruthless in the fight for a better future. 

Pessimism is easy. Anyone can find fault, make excuses, or point to all the reasons something might not work. It doesn’t take a genius to do that. There is no brilliance in cynicism; no genius in ‘realism’. That’s lazy. A person is not more evolved because they have the ability to criticize; in fact, it shows a failure to activate the most evolved parts of the human brain that are wildly capable of critical thinking and complex problem solving.

The genius belongs to the problem-solver. It lies in the person resolved to find a solution in the face of countless inevitable obstacles. Robert H. Schuller explains that, “optimism refuses to believe that the road ends without options.” Optimism is the generator and creator of options. Optimism isn’t about blind idealism; it’s about turning a disciplined eye towards envisioning a better future.

The opposite of optimism isn’t pessimism. It’s fear. Criticism, cynicism, blame, shame, procrastination, and exasperation are all forms of fear. We mask it as ‘enlightenment’, or shroud it in airs of self-righteousness’, but really it’s plain, old-fashioned fear. And fear is designed to protect us from the unknown. But fear doesn’t solve problems. Fear feeds them. It creates and perpetuates them. Fear fixates the problem (or a symptom) and stops there. But fear keeps us in the part of the brain focused on fight, flight, or freeze. And it is suffocated by its absolute lack of creativity. 

Optimism always precedes solutions. The Dalai Lama explains that before you take positive action, you first must have a positive vision. And optimism is the positive vision that enables us to reverse engineer more positive action. It is the ability to see beyond the existing reality to a different possiblity. It is the key to resilience, creativity, and impact.

Optimism moves us out of apathy. Harvard psychologist Shawn Achor also explains that thousands of studies in psychology and neuroscience show that when you are positive, our brains become more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, and productive. Optimism is the key to a better future. Optimism is the positive vision that precedes positive action. Optimism is an act of rebellion.

Optimism doesn't guarantee success. But you will most certainly not succeed without it.