Truth be known, the subjects that I did not excel in while in school was English, literature and poetry. Unlike many of you that can recite lines from famous books and poems, I cannot. However, I do remember a poem I heard once that makes me smile:
Optimism and Pessimism…The Difference is Droll…
The Optimist sees the donut; the pessimist the hole.
First, let’s define these two concepts:
Pessimism: a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen; a lack of hope or confidence in the future.
Optimism: hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.
How do these two concepts impact our weight control efforts? Well, if we are in the mindset of the pessimist and have little hope for the future, why would even bother to care about our weight control? May as well eat and drink what we like because bad things are going to happen anyway.
Being optimistic, we will view the future as holding many fun and rewarding adventures and activities. It is imperative that we get/stay healthy so we can avail ourselves of all of these futuristic opportunities. Hence, our success in weight control is critical.
Quite frankly, it is very difficult to remain optimistic these days. Between the never-ending pandemic and issues surrounding this, the worst inflation rates we have seen in 40 years, the cold dark, seasonal affective disorder time…these and more contributing factors are swaying even the most optimistic people to feel pessimistic.
How do we turn pessimism into optimism? Focus on the wonderful people in your lives and find the many reasons why YOU want to be a part of their lives for many years to come. Your children and grandchildren have entire lives ahead of them and YOU want to be a part of the graduations, weddings, promotions, vacations and other really great events that the future holds for your loved ones. Yes, we are in very turbulent times now, but like all negative situations, positive changes are on the horizon.
So, please try to see the donut and not the hole. BUT….don’t eat that donut!