I could beat myself up about this, that it’s already the end of the month so what’s the point of mentioning it now? … but that would not be optimistic!
Instead there are still many sweet days left to talk about something dear to my heart and a way I choose to live and try to better myself every day: Being an Optimist.
So what is it, really?
A silly banana that laughs at everything?

Not everything… Just really immature jokes.
Optimism isn’t being blind to what is happening, it is not naivity. Instead, it is the ability to see something positive in ALL things.
And it also annoys the hell out of pessimists.
Optimism: noun
1.hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something.
I’ll give you an example. I am hopeful that one day someone might actually read this blog. Maybe that’s not optimism but in fact delusional…

Hey hello stranger, if you are reading this. I thank you most sincerely. Please be my friend. 😀
So to continue…I see many memes saying optimists go around smiling while realists understand what’s happening. This is a gross misconception. ( I took it personally) For starters, the opposite of optimism is pessimism, not realism. You can be a realistic optimist, or should I say an optimist and a realist.
Without problems there is no progress.
Humans create problems,.. ammmarrite? So it’s pretty damned unlikely that there will never be any more… I mean just look at the world right now… 2 mins on any news channel and you know what I mean… So being an optimist in a problematic world could be challenging. It’s about attitude.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Winston Churchill -
Nice one Winnie. I don’t like everything about him but he did come out with some blinders.
So how can you be optimistic in a problem-filled reality?
Face the problem and see hope within it. It could be maturing your approach to challenging people so you learn how to be non-judgemental or simply calm a situation with diplomacy. Maybe experiencing grief which allows you to comfort a friend with real understanding. Raising a child with health issues which makes you re-assess what’s really important. Feeling stressed out and deciding to learn meditation, or simply having to read that breadmaker instruction manual for the third time so we can all enjoy fresh bread tomorrow ( you see, not just the big stuff haha).
Problems are the presentation of opportunities which allow you to change or grow.
“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.”
-Deepak Chopra-
Some people complain when there is a problem. On and on about the problem and how it’s annoying or it’s stopping them from doing something they want to do… I DO live in Italy and Italians are well-qualified at complaining! ( Little known worldwide I think)…but by reacting the same way, they are stuck. Stuck in their own treacle. If we can look at a problem and use it as an opportunity to do things differently then we can make progress.
If you imagine a perfect world, a utopia. Every problem in Utopia is resolved. There is no need for solutions and innovation. But it’s impossible. Think about it. It becomes stale. What would you do every day? Sit around? Play ping-pong… but who made the rackets, the table…?
Hmmm… Just lounge among the trees? Ouch! A bee sting… How do I make it better?
Problems create solutions. Or better, to see our problems instead, as situations that need a solution. Then go about to find one. These situations push us to innovate and create.
My long-standing optimistic thought has always been:
‘There MUST be a way.’
If I am annoying you then you must be a pessimist. Haha.

Oh and as we’re online and you can leave comments, I will leave you with a quote of one of my favourite people Marcus Aurelius, the last good emperor of Rome, who knew a thing or two about trying to stay positive in difficult situations.
The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject.
Marcus Aurelius
I like Ole Marcus. He’s a good chap.
So trolls, crawl back in your hole… until April…
Live well, peeps! Stay positive. ( That’s another expression the pandemic ruined – I must reclaim it!)
Xx