Dangerous Optimism

Apart from theatre, film and literature I have been taught most of the important things about life by clients. I’ve also learned from them about optimism. Optimism has two sides. The evident one, many times repeated, saying that a positive approach to life facilitates and lightens our existence, probably need not be analysed any further. The second aspect seems to be more interesting: optimism is dangerous!

I classify myself as an optimist, so I get a lot of clients of a similar ilk. And it is often the case that what I can very easily miss in relation to myself I can see very clearly in others. Classic optimists are able to remain in an uncomfortable or disadvantageous situation for an unbelievably long time. Sometimes whole years, or even decades. Classic optimists stay in unsatisfactory jobs, relationships or in both, because they thoroughly search for what new lesson can be learnt from the given situation. They scrutinize what they have learnt from life, search for what it means for them and find excuses for any characters playing a part in an awkward scene. They realise that the situation is unpleasant, but they put themselves to the test to determine where exactly their limits lie. They experiment with their potentials. There where a realist (a person with both feet on solid ground) feels, the time for change has come, optimists are concerned with what other new things they can learn from the given situation and where else they could try to improve themselves. They miss most of the negative aspects by looking at life through their proverbial rose-coloured glasses …

We the optimists have no choice but to ask ourselves several questions from time to time:
In which area do I feel internal insecurity or discomfort?
What do I ignore and don’t want to see?
What can I see if I look at the situation through the eyes of a sceptic?
What will I do about it? How big a change can I make?

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