Better you
The perspective of pessimism :
Take a second and read out the following sentence slowly but loudly. I am intelligent, smart, confident, kind, passionate, honest, and trustworthy. Some of you already affirm this and some just need a little reminder. You must be thinking about how repeating a specific set of words will help in any way. But it does help a lot. Lately, I came across some articles related to the importance of not making oneself feel bad for the shortcomings in life. While I was going through the initial Paragraphs, only disappointment, rejection, failures, and give-ups were taking center stage. Though knowing about acceptance and success waiting at the end, it was hard to go through the lines of struggle and pain. With each passing paragraph, the problems seemed only to pile up. No respite from the former issues and new ones making their way made me more anxious and worried. The joy of reading is that you start being the protagonist and antagonist depending on how the situation suits you. In this case, the problems seemed to be a forever companion. I started doubting about the happy ending that I had envisioned before starting reading the article. And when I was about to give up, the major roadblock made its way. It was the last thing the writer of the article wanted at this point. It devastated everything. I was turning numb and was preparing myself for a dead end. As it goes, when one door closes, many others open. This case seemed to be an exception for me. No ray of hope and no silver lining was showing up; probably they, too, were finding it hard to make way.
The perspective of optimism :
But then hope did the knock on the door; opportunities left their addresses in emails and letters; success was getting ready in the backdrop. Things turned in favor of the writer, and failures started loosening their grip. The helplessness changed into independent decisions, sleepless nights into scheduling the following day, agony into passion, and rejections into offers. I felt the amount of happiness the writer was going through — the words resonated with the power of success and belief. For the writer, the mantra for success was simple yet challenging. It was self-affirmation. According to the writer, the most disappointing point is not when someone doesn’t value your work or simply says no to it without giving it a look. Instead, disappointment occurs when the rejections and harsh words make their way into our minds, and we form the same opinion about ourselves. It not only crushes our dreams and aspirations but also stops us from seeing any improvement in ourselves. It inhibits our growth, and we stop to take challenges and form opinions. Coming out of that preconceived notion about oneself and trying new things requires an undying spirit. According to the writer, it is the belief in oneself that helps one grow. Reminding oneself about one’s uniqueness, commonality with others ushers progress. Self-affirmation performs both of these jobs. It makes one see beyond the cloudy day because we all can achieve our goals no matter how small or insignificant they appear to someone else. As long as we believe in them, water them, trust them, we are halfway through. Promising yourself never to lose may be a sign of narcissism, but a believer vows never to give up. As long as our locus of control is internal and in the right direction, we are few steps far from our goals. Giving up isn’t bad, but giving up without trying is. We need to give things a try, and rest self-affirmations will do.
