How to you keep optimistic or hopeful?

[Lark]

How do you remain or keep optimistic or hopeful when you're really experiencing adversity and people you depend on begin to operate in a way that's out of character?

 

[Ginkgo]

Well most people waste their energy with fake smiles until they suffer from mental breakdowns.

 

[Rail Tracer]

[YOUTUBE="CmrOB_q3tjo"]Andy Grammer - Keep Your Head Up[/YOUTUBE]

Yes, the video relates to the subject.

As for always remaining optimistic and hopeful, that is a whole another topic altogether (because I'm not like that.)

 

[funkadelik]

I don't know...escape into something you love and run away or face those demons head on and hope you triumph in the end.

It's complicated, though: everyone handles things differently depending on their character.

 

[miss fortune]

perspective... things can always get worse and I've LIVED through worse and things worked out, so why make a big deal about it?

I'm also really good at getting distracted, which works out splendidly

 

[Rasofy]

Can't tell...my goal is being as realist as possible. Optimism clouds judgement and you end up ignoring possibilities.

 

[citizen cane]

Well most people waste their energy with fake smiles until they suffer from mental breakdowns.

Indeed.



Wait...no. I'm being informed that this is not, as a matter of fact, the typical response to adversity. A little birdie told me the typical response is to be put on medications that eliminate emotional turmoil, thus rendering this a non-issue.

That being said, I'm probably headed straight toward a mental breakdown of some sort in the medium or long term.

 

[Mole]

It's all good

Well most people waste their energy with fake smiles until they suffer from mental breakdowns.

Yeah, they say, fake it till you make it. But in a society where you've got it made when you can fake sincerity, it's all good.

 

[Coriolis]

Can't tell...my goal is being as realist as possible. Optimism clouds judgement and you end up ignoring possibilities.

I agree. To borrow the words of one of my favorite fictional characters, "Hope is the denial of reality. It is the carrot dangled before the draft horse to keep him plodding along in a vain attempt to reach it. We should remove the carrot and walk forward with our eyes open."*

I stay motivated and focused in the face of adversity by remembering my goals and understanding the options available for reaching them. Once I have considered and planned for the worst case, it boosts my confidence in not only weathering and navigating what actually does happen, but taking best advantage of it as well.

Keeping perspective as Whatever writes is important also, like the person with no shoes who still feels better off than the person with no feet.

*Raistlin Majere, Dragonlance

 

[Nicodemus]

"The life of man consists therein that he, befooled by hope, dances into the arms of death."
- Schopenhauer

 

[entropie]

"The life of man consists therein that he, befooled by hope, dances into the arms of death."
- Schopenhauer

schopenhauer was no big picture thinker cause he always forgot the impact any man leaves behind on the rest of the World even thru little actions and that he lives thru that eternally. schopenhauer was so depressed with himself that he felt it is his duty to make everbody else depressed as well so his depression was a little more endureable. if he just had had the character to embark onto new journeys and to thru at some point in life everything just overboard and do something stupid yet completly different he'ld either died like he predicted or had a lot of fun before he did the same.

There are 3 trillion answers to the op and that is what makes life beautiful. the versatility of opinion and the ability to never loose your sense to wonder can keep you around for some time. since i am not the most optimistic atm as well, my answer to the op would be: that what doesnt kill you, makes you stronger.

 

[Nicodemus]

schopenhauer was no big picture thinker cause he always forgot the impact any man leaves behind on the rest of the World even thru little actions and that he lives thru that eternally. schopenhauer was so depressed with himself that he felt it is his duty to make everbody else depressed as well so his depression was a little more endureable. if he just had had the character to embark onto new journeys and to thru at some point in life everything just overboard and do something stupid yet completly different he'ld either died like he predicted or had a lot of fun before he did the same.

His picture was so big that it transcended human history. Such trifles were just wee parts of his world view.

 

[Stanton Moore]

"The life of man consists therein that he, befooled by hope, dances into the arms of death."
- Schopenhauer

Fuck that.

 

[Mole]

The Power of Positive Thinking is a terrible mistake for we perceive by making distinctions and a fundamental distinction is between good and bad.

So if we try to suppress the bad, we also suppress the good.

Imagine if Shakespeare followed the Power of Positive Thinking and was relentlessly optimistic, then none of the Tragic plays would have been written and even the Comedies would have been impossible.

Optimism alone is a siren song which will wreck us.

 

[CrystalViolet]

How do you remain or keep optimistic or hopeful when you're really experiencing adversity and people you depend on begin to operate in a way that's out of character?

You find someone who sees you realistically, but won't betray your humanness, and if you are close enough to be confidents, and friends, will support you emotionally( as you support them). You don't have optimistic all the time, but one needs a little support if they are seen as the emotional pillar. You'll be that much stronger, if you have at least one person you don't have to be strong for. I know a lot about this.
It isn't necessarily about not showing weakness, but having the ability to act with a clear mind. Having doubts, and still soldiering takes way more strength, than blind faith.

 

[Santosha]

I'm not really sure how to intepret the situation, wanting you to clarify what exactly you wish to remain optimistic about. The person? The relation? Life in general?

With any of these, I would say the first step is to understand that everything and everybody changes, all the time, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. It's painful. It involves attachment and the only way to alleviate the pain is to stop attaching to should be's, used to be's, hope to be's, etc. Much of it involves getting rid of judgements. Good, bad, all up to you.. the truth is that it just is.

Secondly, I have found comfort and optimisim in this change The ability to change my own perspective, that is. This is entirely in my control, no one else can touch it .. I can choose to see it as good, bad, anything in between. I can choose to find value and meaning in anything I want, and there is always a value to be found.

Third, http://www.selfdiscoveryportal.com/cmSengTsan.htm

 

[So It Goes]

How do you remain or keep optimistic or hopeful when you're really experiencing adversity

I generally remain calm and assess the situation. If my first reaction is irrational or immature, I do not react in that way, until I understand the consequences of my actions, such as hurting another person for no good reason. I want distance, time and patience, in order to examine the situation, and to learn if I am right or wrong or undecided, rather than going head-first into dangerous waters. But at the same time, if I don’t have the opportunity to examine, then I will react in a careful manner (if I can).

If I can’t react carefully and calmly, then I will adapt to the situation with as little harm to myself and the other person as possible. There are times, however, when the best option is to strike first, even if there are some downfalls to that approach. For example, if I am competing in sports and must react quickly, then I will act without much thought, but rather from experience and preparation. If I make a mistake in that decision and can’t retract, then I'll not dwell on the mistake, but learn how to change my ways or become better in the future.

 

[Giggly]

Avoiding them? That is if it's really bringing you down.

 

[highlander]

I would have a few concrete suggestions, assuming you are really an Te dom:

1. Engage in physical activity - especially solitary - to let you think; also look for a change in scenery
2. Talk to someone who will be non judgmental who will empathize with you
3. Think of this perspective, "Good comes from all things"; may sound like BS but I'm pretty certain it is true

That's what I can come up with for the moment.

 

[Crescent Fresh]

How do you remain or keep optimistic or hopeful when you're really experiencing adversity and people you depend on begin to operate in a way that's out of character?

I suppose you're feeling lost when the people who you counted for the most had gone out of their characters?

I would suggest give them some time. No one can function in a healthy state indefinitely. Perhaps there are some factors that had influence their lives temporary. Just hope for the best, but also expect for the worst, so that you'll learn how to depend on them less just in case if they will never change.