选择乐观 Choose Optimism

佚名/Anonymous

If you expect something to turn out bad, it probably will. Pessimism is seldom disappointed. But the same principle also works in reverse. If you expect good things to happen, they usually do! There seems to be a natural 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, sufficient joy and pain—to find a rational basis for either optimism or pessimism. 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 hope 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 nature. Sure, I know that sorrow exists. I am in my 70s now, and I've lived through more than one crisis. But when all is said and done, I find that the good in life far outweighs the bad.

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

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 seemed 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 confidently, 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 yellow.

By the time I left the service station, I was feeling a little uneasy. About a block away, I pulled over to the side of the road to look at my face in the mirror. How did I feel? Was I jaundiced? Was everything all right? By the time I got home, I was beginning to feel a little queasy. Did I have a bad liver? Had I picked up some rare disease?

The next time I went into that gas station, feeling fine again, I figured out what had happened. The place had recently been painted a bright, bilious yellow, and the light reflecting off the walls made everyone inside look as though they had hepatitis! I wondered how many other folks had reacted the way I did. I had let one short conversation with a total stranger change my attitude for an entire day. He told me I looked sick, and before long, I was actually feeling sick. That single negative observation had a profound effect on the way I felt and acted.

The only thing more powerful than negativism is a positive affirmation, a word of optimism and hope. One of the things I am most thankful for is the fact that I have grown up in a nation with a grand tradition of optimism. When a whole culture adopts an upward look, incredible things can be accomplished. When the world is seen as a hopeful, positive place, people are empowered to attempt and to achieve.

Optimism doesn't need to be naive. We can be an optimist and still recognize that problems exist and that some of them are not dealt with easily. But what a difference optimism makes in the attitude of the problem solver! Optimism diverts our attention away from negativism and channels it into positive, constructive thinking. When you're an optimist, you're more concerned with problem-solving than with useless carping about issues. In fact, without optimism, issues as big and ongoing as poverty have no hope of solution. It takes a dreamer—someone with completely optimistic ideas, great persistence, and unlimited confidence—to tackle a problem that big. It's your choice.

如果你预料某事会很糟糕，那么它很可能真会这样。悲观的想法一般都会成真。反之亦然，如果你料想会好运连连，通常也会这样！乐观和成功之间似乎有一种天然的因果关系。

乐观和悲观都有强大的力量，我们塑造和展望未来，就必须从中作出选择。每个人的生命中都有很多的幸运或灾难——充满着忧伤和快乐、狂喜和痛苦——不论我们是悲观还是乐观，都有充分的理由。我们可以选择哭或笑、祝福或诅咒，这是我们的决定。选择用什么样的眼光来看待人生，是在希望中昂首阔步，还是在绝望中低头长叹？

我喜欢展望未来。我选择注意积极面，忽视消极面。我之所以是个乐观主义者，更多的是因为我的选择，而非天性。当然，我知道，生命中总存在着悲伤。现在，我已经70多岁了，经历过太多灾难，但当一切尘埃落定，我发现生命中的美好远多于丑恶。

乐观的态度并非奢侈品，而是必需品。看待生活的方式决定了你如何去感受、去表现，以及你与他人如何相处。相反，消极的思想、态度和预想也决定了这些，它们成为一种能自我实现的预言。悲观会使生活阴沉下来，没有人愿意活在其中。

几年前，我开车去一个加油站加油，那天天气很晴朗，我心情很好。当我进站付油费时，服务员对我说：“你感觉怎么样？”这个问题有些莫名其妙，但我感觉很好，就这样跟他说了。“你脸色不大好，”他说。我十分惊讶。于是，我告诉他，我确实感觉不错，但已不再信心十足了。他继续满怀信心说我的脸色如何不好，连皮肤都发黄了。

我心神不宁地离开加油站，开了一个街区后，把车停在路边，照着镜子看看自己的脸。我怎么了？是不是得了黄疸病了？没什么事吧？回到家时，我开始想吐了，我的肝脏是不是出了问题？我不会染上什么怪病了吧？

我再次去那个加油站时，感觉还是很好，也明白了究竟是怎么一回事。这个地方最近涂了一种明亮、像胆汁的黄色油漆，灯光从墙上反射过来，让里面的人看起来像是得了肝炎。我想，不知道有多少人的脸色看起来也和我一样呢。我的心情因为与一个陌生人的短暂交谈，整整改变了一天。他告诉我，我看起来像生病了，而后不久，我真的感觉不舒服。这个仅仅是因为表面观察而匆忙下的消极结论，却深刻地影响了我的感受和行为。

唯一能战胜消极看法的就是一个积极肯定的态度，乐观、充满希望的一句话。最让我欣慰的是，我是在一个有着乐观主义光荣传统的国度里成长的，当整体文化积极向上时，再难以置信的事也能完成。当人们以乐观积极的态度看待这个世界时，就会更有力量实现目标。

乐观未必就意味着天真，我们可以在乐观的同时，仍意识到存在的问题——有些问题甚至很难解决。但是，乐观使解决问题的态度有所不同，它使我们把注意力从消极转向积极、有建设性的思考上。如果你是一个乐观主义者，会更在意解决问题而不是怨天尤人——这样做毫无价值。事实上，如果没有乐观主义精神，一些诸如贫穷这类严重而且持久的问题，就毫无希望解决，它需要一个梦想家——一个拥有绝对乐观、矢志不渝、坚定信念的人——来解决这个巨大的问题。乐观，或是悲观，在于你的选择。

心灵小语

积极、乐观的生活态度可以帮助我们更好地生活，更真切地体会生活的真谛。对于乐观者，痛苦可以变成快乐，无益可以变成有益。如果一个人是悲观的，那他的生活必定是灰暗的！人生苦短，更要乐观地对待生活，享受它赐予我们的一切。

W 词汇笔记

pessimism[ˈpesəˌmizəm]n.悲观主义

例 There were good grounds for pessimism about future progress.

对将来的发展持悲观态度是有充分依据的。

optimism[ˈɔptimizəm]n.乐观；乐观主义

例 Optimism made him alive through the hard days.

乐观主义使他在艰难的岁月里活了下来。

outlook[ˈautluk]n.观点；见解；世界观；人生观

例 He has a broad outlook on life.

他的人生观十分豁达。

sufficient[səˈfiʃənt]adj.足够的；充足的

例 We have gained sufficient experience to tackle this problem.

我们已经有了足够的经验来处理这个问题。

S 小试身手

乐观和成功之间似乎有一种天然的因果关系。

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我之所以是个乐观主义者，更多的是因为我的选择，而非天性。

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如果你是一个乐观主义者，会更在意解决问题而不是怨天尤人——这样做毫无价值。

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P 短语家族

If you expect something to turn out bad……

turn out：关灯；制造；培养；结果是

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Conversely, negative thoughts, attitudes, and expectations feed on themselves

feed on：以……为食；以……为能源

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