Lately I’ve been noticing two schools of thought: unbridled happiness bullies who are blindly hopium-filled to the point where they wave off or dismiss any kind of reality that's deemed less than comfy. And then there are the doomers, who are totally unbridled in their doomism and wave off any kind of optimism or anything that doesn't seem to fit their agenda. The latter seems to be much more prominent as of late. With all that said, what if I told y’all that realistic optimism is a thing?

There’s no doubt that we are in a rough spot in our nation and world history. The rise of right wing Christo-nationalism and fascism are spreading, on top of the climate crisis and various other issues we face as a species. The harsh truth is that nothing is promised in this world. People have suffered, are suffering and will continue to suffer. This may sound fucked up, but we were never entitled to have an era of hope and good feelings forever. That’s naive and anti-historical in its nature. Throughout history, there have always been prosperous eras and negative eras as history is very cyclical in nature. We’re currently in a rough spot/negative era. The reality is that progress and history are not linear. This phenomenon is exacerbated by the fact that most of the people lamenting that we are “cooked” are young and don’t have the life experience or historical background to look more objectively. That’s exactly what realistic optimism aims to do. Acknowledging the harsh reality of the situation while still providing hope that we can get out of this. A nuanced look at reality.

The best thing about all of this? We can make optimism a thing by actually working for progress, but also recognizing the grim and harsh realities that I pointed out in my previous paragraph, without losing sight of the big picture and giving into doom. That can be achieved by working for progress and better outcomes. That's the nature of realistic optimism.

I’ve had constant tinnitus (ringing in my ears) for 4 months. I’d love to hear from anyone who had it for more than a few weeks and less than forever. Or anyone with some words of optimism for me in this very devastating situation. I’m having a tough time feeling alive.

Someone mentioned the optimists creed on a podcast recently, so I asked Chat GPT to give me the low down on it. I thought you might like it.

The Optimist Creed is a set of principles developed by Christian D. Larson in his 1912 book Your Forces and How to Use Them. It has been widely adopted by organizations like Optimist International, inspiring individuals to maintain a positive outlook and focus on personal growth and service to others. Below is the creed with an explanation of each line:

1. Promise Yourself To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

• Meaning: Develop mental resilience and inner strength. Cultivate confidence, focus on personal growth, and practice mindfulness to stay calm and centered in challenging situations.

2. To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

• Meaning: Spread positivity through your words and actions. Encourage others with optimism and a hopeful outlook, which can uplift their spirits and yours.

3. To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

• Meaning: Recognize and affirm the strengths and value of those around you. Offer genuine compliments and support to help others feel appreciated and empowered.

4. To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

• Meaning: Focus on the positive aspects of situations, even during difficulties. Use optimism as a tool to manifest hope and better outcomes in your life.

5. To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

• Meaning: Set high standards for yourself and maintain a constructive mindset. Pursue excellence in your goals and expect success, which can help you overcome challenges.

6. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

• Meaning: Celebrate others’ achievements with genuine joy and encouragement. This promotes collaboration, reduces envy, and strengthens relationships.

7. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

• Meaning: Let go of regrets and learn from past mistakes. Focus your energy on what you can achieve in the present and future, rather than dwelling on what went wrong.

8. To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

• Meaning: A positive demeanor can inspire and comfort others. Smiling and exuding warmth helps to foster a welcoming and uplifting atmosphere.

9. To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

• Meaning: Concentrate on personal growth and self-reflection. Avoid negativity and judgment, which can distract from your own progress and peace of mind.

10. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

• Meaning: Rise above negative emotions by focusing on what truly matters. Develop emotional intelligence, practice gratitude, and maintain a positive perspective even during difficulties.

This creed serves as a powerful guideline for living a fulfilling, optimistic life while inspiring kindness and growth in others.

I think pessimism is eating up my life. It's so easy to default to pessimism, that it often goes unnoticed. I f'd up a chance to talk to a really cute girl today at a friend's wedding. Upon introspection, I realised that it was because I'm a pessimistic person. Infact, most of the things that are wrong with my life might be due to me being pessimistic. I think of myself as a practical person. In my mind being practical is closely associated with being pessimist. Is that correct? On the other hand, I'm not sure whether being optimistic would really solve my life problems. Since I feel so much at loss today, I'm willing to give optimism a try. Please help me understand what is the mindset and though process of a pragmatic optimist?

Please feel free to redirect to an appropriate subreddit of this is not the place for such questions. Thanks for lot for reading through this!

In roughly one trillion, trillion, trillion (10^1728 ) years from now, the accelerating expansion of the universe will have disintegrated the fabric of matter itself, terminating the possibility of embodiment. Every star in the universe will have burnt out, plunging the cosmos into a state of absolute darkness and leaving behind nothing but spent husks of collapsed matter. All free matter, whether on planetary surfaces or in interstellar space, will have decayed, eradicating any remnants of life based in protons and chemistry, and erasing every vestige of sentience - irrespective of its physical basis. Finally, in a state cosmologists call ‘asymptopia’, the stellar corpses littering the empty universe will evaporate into a brief hailstorm of elementary particles. Atoms themselves will cease to exist. Only the implacable expansion will continue, driven by the currently inexplicable force called 'dark energy', which will keep pushing the extinguished universe deeper and deeper into an eternal and unfathomable blackness.

I recently discovered my family just doesn't love me, although they love my brother. I've been trying to make an extra effort to be good for them, but even though I try I'm not enough for them. I'm studying a career on the university and aside of that, I'm studying like 4 languages more aside of my first one, but they only speak about how intelligent is my brother 'cause he studies medicine and they want me to give up and quit college. All of my friends have forsaken me too, I try to see them but they all make excuses and don't come to see me (when I was better I always used to make some time to see them, even though I was really busy) ... I'm trying to keep focused on my way to success, but it gets harder everytime I realize I'm the only one who wants to see me growing like a persona and being happy the rest of my days, I'm having some economics issues...I guess this was necessary to realize who were they,...please I need your advices to keep and mantein optimism

I'm literally sick from my YouTube feed. I need to tune into positive news. So far I've got a list of positive youtubers. Any new additions you can make would be appreciated. This isn't the best list just what i've scavenged.

https://youtube.com/@good__news?si=6sIWv-HN3fgaN637 (good_news)

https://youtube.com/@actualizedorg?si=0CbV7Gvavz9jaJmJ (Actualized.org)

https://youtube.com/@sehnend.?si=GHjZMQjcgCberGFA (sehnend)

⬆️ These probably aren't the best channels but I wanted to give lesser-known channels a chance.

https://youtube.com/@psych2go?si=W8-w9-nJVaKK4AjT (psych2go)

https://youtube.com/@goodmythicalmorning?si=h9cDr0Q9uutZNJqN (Good methical morning)

https://youtube.com/@katimorton?si=OZmA32HYlWIhHncF (kati Morton)

https://youtube.com/@charismaoncommand?si=2siapdO_KqB_Fx5w (Charisma on command)

https://youtube.com/@cinematherapyshow?si=pKktpoGKjY5bGImz (Cinema therapy)

https://youtube.com/@evancarmichael?si=NVwMyWHN9IepsSx9 (Evan carmichael)

https://youtube.com/@philosophiesforlife?si=kVz5VrntKaT-sBBN (Philosophies for life)

Hi reddit! I want to know if you can help me with staying optimistic even tho i dislike my coworkers and one of my managers. They are snarky, rude, immature and problematic. Though it is hard to ignore them because i only have 6 more coworkers, we are a small office and very close to each other and one of our managers. I don’t ever want to be become unmotivated or uncomfortable at work because of someone’s else’s behavior. How can i maintain a motivated and optimistic mindset even if i have to keep to myself. Thank you in advance!

Researchers just developed a blood test to detect Alzheimer’s with 91% accuracy up to seven years before symptoms arise.

Dementia specialists are only 73% accurate.

A word of caution: These tests are still in trials. But early results are incredibly promising. And by catching these diseases early, we can start treatment sooner.

AI is accelerating that, too...

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have used AI to identify potential treatments for Parkinson’s 10 times faster than before.

We're talking about finding cures in months instead of years. Drugs are now coming to market that slow the progression of dementia.

All these breakthroughs happened this year! Imagine what we’ll achieve in the next five years.

Great concept, terrible people. Hopefully this sub can be a haven for people who dont bully doomers

hello. im a big time pessimist.for example, i will saddenify everything (if that makes sense) and look back on fond memories of me with say, a friend, and be like "sigh. its so sad that i dont have that friend anymore. we were such a good duo. now she doesnt like me anymore." or i will catastrophize things "god, why did i do that? and why did he say that about my insert physical feauture? does he like me? no, probably not, that one girl is SO much prettier than me. im nothing in comparison, everybody just likes others more than me." lol. also, i complain a WHOLE lot. "god its so hot" "ugh, i HATE this class" "ugh, fuck my life i have no friends look at those girls with their boyfriends and huge friend groups." etc etc etc. SO. obviously i have a problem and im glad i recognized it. however i have no idea where to start. if u search up how to be optimistic, you will get very vague things like "have a great relationship with yourself 🥺" like, what? idk how to do that!! anyways pls help

Knowledge only comes with experience.

If you want to make a change in your life, don’t expect to know the next step if that change is something you haven’t done before.

But you don’t need to know. You need to trust the process and trust that you have whatever it takes to reach the other side of the change.

In most cases, the things you think you know may limit the steps you take. So treat your lack of knowledge as an opportunity to explore both the road ahead and yourself as passionately as you can.

This is an important review article published last year in Nature, that shows the common illusion of moral decline over time.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06137-x

It's an illusion that they can document going back as far as social science reaches. When I teach my ethics class each semester I begin with the questions from Gallup that ask how people rate the state of morality in the nation (US). Without fail, my students replicate the general findings -- about 80% rate the state of morality as only fair or poor. But when I ask them about how they rate themselves and their friends and family, they are far less pessimistic.

I put this together from memory for another thread and thought this might be a good place to share it, too. Hope you all enjoy.

In the 50s there were twin boys. One was an extreme pessimist and the other was an extreme optimist. So they brought in child psychologists to run some tests.

They took the pessimist and put him in a room with everything a child could want, and told him, “you have a good time and we’ll be back in a while.”

As for the optimist, they put him in a room with nothing in it except for a great big pile of horse manure. They told him, “you stay here and we’ll be back in a while.”

30 minutes later, one doc said, “Let’s go see how the pessimist is doing.”

The kid was just sitting with his arms folded. They said, “Sonny, why don’t you try that candy? That’s good candy. All the kids love that candy.” The boy said, “I’ll probably get a tummy ache.” “Well, now, what about those roller skates? All the kids like roller skates.” He said, “I’ll prolly skin my knee.”

One doc said, “Gee, he’s in bad shape. Let’s go see how the optimist is doing.”

When they opened the door they couldn’t believe their eyes. There was manure all over the walls! All over the ceiling! The boy was standing in it up to his knees and slinging it everywhere!

The doc cried out, “Sonny, WHAT IN THE WORLD are you doing!?”

The boy squealed with joy, “With all this manure there’s got to be a PONY somewhere!”

In the journey of life, we often encounter challenges that test our resolve and spirit. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and uncertain, but it’s important to remember that within each of us lies the power of optimism—a beacon of hope that can guide us through the darkest of times.

Optimism is not just a fleeting emotion; it’s a conscious choice to see the good in every situation, to believe in our potential, and to trust that better days are ahead. It’s the courage to face setbacks with a smile, knowing that every obstacle is an opportunity for growth and learning.

When we embrace optimism, we unlock the strength within ourselves to persevere and push forward. We become architects of our destiny, shaping our future with determination and a positive mindset.

So, let’s choose optimism. Let’s nurture our dreams with faith and resilience, and let the light of hope illuminate our path. Remember, the power to change our world begins with a single, optimistic thought.

like geez, people are talking like the earth will explode in 2 years and we will kill ourselves for money as life just goes on.

i know, pessimism is more akin to the humane nature so more people will have it since it helped us survive especially in more primal ages. now transport that to a age where companies profit of the shocking and fearful news, with everyone having such ease of access to discussions and boy you will drown in it. but anyone else think its overwhelming? doom is seen as "relatable" everywhere, and faith in humanity is commonly mocked.

im worried for the people's lack of hope for the future, much more than any economic, geographic, social or political issue. im sure we will pull through that fear, but the damage it may cause in mental health is concerning to me. (also could we please have more discussions instead of quotes?)

How can one retain the strong, positive spirit where no matter how bad the situation is, you'll always stay uplifted and look at the brighter side of things?