Optimism is The Key to Success and Your Dreams

Introduction

Optimism is the key to success. Optimism is in almost every TV ad you come across. Famous and highly successful people always talk about how optimism contributed to their success. It is so prevalent that a lot of people believe success to be a result of it. The more optimistic you are, the more creative your mind allows you to be. With an optimistic attitude, a person can generate new ideas and create possibilities to move forward faster than at normal times. Once we think of ways we can make our future ideal, we become more optimistic and positive about our present.

The Benefits of Optimism for Success

Optimism is a form of positive thinking that includes the belief that you are responsible for your own happiness, and that more good things than bad will continue to happen to you. They also believe that bad things are very rare and something they can not help. A person who is very optimistic could be described as a person who thinks of the best outcome every time. A very confident person could also be described as optimistic. Throughout life you will come across two different types of people; those who are optimistic and those who are pessimistic. Pessimistic people are the total opposite of optimistic people, they believe the worst will happen. A very optimistic will not give up as easily as someone who is not. There are great benefits to being optimistic. Optimists also tend to experience less stress because they believe in themselves and their abilities to make great things happen to themselves or others.

The Pitfalls of Toxic Optimism

Toxic optimism develops when we let our emotions manipulate statistics to the point that our desire for something to happen far exceeds the actual outcomes that will happen. This could also be known as wishful thinking. Wishful thinking can be extremely harmful, even toxic. Hope and optimism focus on a positive future. However, while hoping involves having faith that we will get positive results, the toxic optimism means having them and taking them for granted. Toxic optimism may seem rare but it’s actually not. It is a big reason why many entrepreneurs fail at first. The problem isn’t that their business idea is bad, it’s their overly optimistic attitude. Before coming up with a backup plan, they invest all of their money into a business that has a chance of failing. Excessive optimism basically allows you to lie to yourself. You will develop selective attention. If a little thing goes wrong, it will most likely be ignored which can create a big problem over time. Being optimistic is great, but to have too much of it can have negative effects.

Although you may be one of the most optimistic people, hard work is still necessary to achieve your dreams. Depending on optimism alone will not get you to where you want to be. There will still be others who work harder than you even though you are optimistic. Studies have shown that people who are overly optimistic may fail in achieving their goals. Optimism alone can not fulfill your goals like you want to. However, to be successful you need to be realistically optimistic. It is necessary to see all problems realistically that might come your way in challenging situations. While optimistic leaders set audacious goals and inspire their teams to achieve monumental success, realistically optimistic leaders not only set audacious goals and inspire their teams but also do not ignore the magnitude of the challenges and difficulties that lie ahead and plan ahead.

Conclusion

To answer the question: no, optimism is not the key to achieving the dreams you imagined. If you are an optimist, this bodes well for your future. You may even be more successful than the average pessimist. However, hard work and dedication is the key to achieving your dreams. It is very likely that if you work hard it will all pay off in the end. A person must always remember to never be overly optimistic. This can create problems in your career and your personal life. Thinking about a world without optimism can be soul-crushing. Optimism is necessary to be happy. Even though it can be delusional at times, I don’t believe pessimism is the way to go. Optimism is definitely important to have, but it will never be the one and only reason for success.  

Works Cited

1. Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. Vintage.
2. Pressman, S. D., & Cohen, S. (2005). Does positive affect influence health? Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 925-971.
3. Segerstrom, S. C. (2006). How does optimism suppress immunity? Evaluation of three affective pathways. Health Psychology, 25(5), 653-657.
4. Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2014). Dispositional optimism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18(6), 293-299.
5. Rasmussen, H. N., Scheier, M. F., & Greenhouse, J. B. (2009). Optimism and physical health: A meta-analytic review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37(3), 239-256.