Your dose for today…
Where will your optimism take you? (Image: Taking off from Cuzco, Peru, by AS.)
“Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute.” —Gil Stern
With each passing year comes some disappointment, pain and rejection. And so, we get better and better at mastering one thing: that dang parachute. We think that if we can perfect a safety feature for our emotions, we’ll be protected from hurt and harm. But the truth is, life is going to disappoint us and there’s not a darn thing we can do about that—and a parachute doesn’t stop a fall, it just slows it down! So think of it this way: Since you’ll never be completely protected from a night on the couch crying, why sit around waiting for a clunky fall from the tarmac when you can be enjoying the lofty beautiful feeling of life and love at 30,000 feet?
Be a dating optimist. Get your dreams for love up in the air, above the clouds. Ask for a half-orange in love, larger than you ever dreamed possible. People once said planes couldn’t fly, right? So don’t think for a second that you can’t find love. Today, forget about the parachute, and get your hopes for love higher than ever. Your dream relationship can only come if you’re up there asking for it.
Try it. Then tell me: How does it feel to fly without a parachute?
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This is so true and so beautiful. I really hope that as I continue to leave my story and disappointments in the past – I’ll be the hopeful optimist who will get what she’s always wanted. I’m channeling my inner Julia Childs! Thanks for this fun and beautiful reminder!
Hi Amy,
I’ve been working on optimism for nearly 5 months now. I’ve actually surprised myself with how well I’ve done, because it’s been so easy for me to be a pessimist. In working for so long on it and thinking all the good thoughts…when is it going to pay off? I get that you need to have faith and keep going, but once in awhile, it gets hard when you are just picturing and thinking things without living them and enjoying the result. How do you keep your hopes UP some days, when you don’t know when your half-orange is going to come along after such a long wait already?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lauren, TheDatingOptimist. TheDatingOptimist said: Today: A new dose of VITAMIN OPTIMISM! Should you dump your dating parachute? http://bit.ly/b9aqec [...]
Awesome, Jill, I love your Julia Child spirit!
And M, that’s a great question. But it sounds to me like it’s already paying off-especially if you’re someone who tended to go pessimistic with your thoughts. You may not have met your half-orange yet, but dating optimism isn’t just about the end result, it’s how good you feel along the way. I totally get that you get tired of feeling positive, I did, too. And if you’d prefer to sometimes crawl under a pillow and be bummed, it’s healthy to let yourself. But let go of the pressure, too. If you’ve put your big intention out there-to end up in a happy, healthy relationship-now’s the part of the process when you can sit back, enjoy life, and let the world bring it to you.
I guess what I’m saying is that even if you’re not “doing” optimism one day, it doesn’t mean what you’ve put out there isn’t already working for you. It is! Give yourself a break. A rest. Just keep putting the intention out there every day of what you want, and understand that it sometimes takes the world a minute to get you two guys in the right place at the right time for each other. It WILL happen. In the meantime, the result of your optimism doesn’t just come in the form of a guy. It comes in the form of a happier life, fuller friendships, appreciating this moment in your life, reaching goals, learning new things, meeting new people, and feeling more in love with yourself and your life than ever! And THAT version of you, your BEST self, is the one your other half will meet and fall in love with.