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第11章 乐观是一种必需品 Choose Optimism

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佚名/Anonymous

If you expect something to turn out bad,it probably will.Pessimism is seldom disappoint.But the same principle also works in reverse.If y ou expect good things to happen,they usually do!There seems to be a na tural cause-and-effect relationship between optimism and success.

Optimism and pessimism are both powerful forces,and each of us must choose which we want to shape our outlook and our expectations.There is enough good and bad in everyone's life-ample sorrow and happiness,suff icient joy and pain-to find a rational basis for either optimism or pes simism.We can choose to laugh or cry,bless or curse.It's our decision:From which perspective do we want to view life?Will we look up in hop e or down in despair?

I believe in the upward look.I choose to highlight the positive and slip right over the negative.I am an optimist by choice as much as by n ature.Sure,I know that sorrow exists.I am in my 70s now,and I've liv ed through more than one crisis.But when all is said and done,I find t hat the good in life far outweighs the bad.

An optimistic attitude is not a luxury;it's a necessity.The way yo u look at life will determine how you feel,how you perform,and how wel l you will get along with other people.Conversely,negative thoughts,a ttitudes,and expectations feed on themselves;they become a self-fulfil ling prophecy.Pessimism creates a dismal place where no one wants to li ve.

Years ago,I drove into a service station to get some gas.It was a beautiful day,and I was feeling great.As I walked into the station to pay for the gas,the attendant said to me,"How do you feel?" That seeme d like an odd question,but I felt fine and told him so."You don't look well." he replied.This took me completely by surprise.A little less co nfidently,I told him that I had never felt better.Without hesitation,he continued to tell me how bad I looked and that my skin appeared yello w.